Power: the Office Game
by A Dreamer Always
Summary: Sasuke and Hinata are the COOs of Hyuga & Uchiha Cooperartion. But neither like each other. Can these two cast their differences aside and pull it together? AU Slight OCC Finshed
1. Dealing with Sasuke: Hyuga Style

Hinata lifted her head, chin high, eyes closed. _Inhale_. Before dropping her head in her hands and blowing out sharply. _Exhale_. No good though. She was still jittery and scared of all the risk she was taking. Hiashi wasn't going to like it much, but he'd have to sign it. No one, absolutely _no_ _one_, could refuse a twenty-five-point-four million deal like this.

She leaned back in her black leather swivel chair, spinning to face the whole back wall of her office made up of floor-to-ceiling windows. Her lavender eyes saw the many towers of companies, some she was about to get ride of. None of them could compare to Hyuga Inc. Everything was about to go downhill for those out there.

Her stomach churned with her unintentional cruelty. She was barely thirty, only twenty-seven, and here she was, practically about to own half the damn city. If Hyuga could own over _sixteen_ percent of companies out there, then Uchiha Corp was going to own a lot more.

Lacing her manicured fingers together, she pressed them to her full glossy soft pink lips, closing her eyes. It had taken her nine years to make this company successful. She twisted the whole power game of Hyuga Inc. and made it hers. There was no more preying on the weak. They believed in give and receive here. She gave to those who deserved it and somehow, they paid back with interest. Hiashi may have been a major generation, but hers was way above what he did.

She was about to get them twenty-five-point-four million more dollars. So, she asked herself. Was this really all worth it?

"Of course it is." Her eyes opened and she stood in her aubergine Chloe strappy peep-toe sandals. Straightening her cloud gray Hermes skirt suit, she smoothed down her satin aubergine sleeveless ruffled front blouse. She had to impress these men, Hiashi and possibly the whole world.

Her hands shook with nerves, but she took a deep breath and turned to face her personal secretary, Ayame.

Ayame bobbed her head, hands laced together in front of her. "Ah, Miss Hyuga, the men have arrived."

Hinata gave her a nervous smile. "Alright Ayame. Give me a moment, please?"

"Would Miss Hyuga like tea?"

"Please." Hinata turned back to the window and the muffled sound of Ayame's black pumps echoed in her ears, even after the door closed. Closing her eyes again, she let her head drop back, against the chair. Crossing her legs, she idly swiveled back and forth, allowing the warmth seeping through the windows to get to her.

In a matter of minutes, she would have Japan's two greatest companies in the same room. Two were Presidents of their companies, two were COO and one was Senior Manager. The door opened again and she listened to the barely audible clink of her coffee mug on the glossy cherry wood desk.

She raised a manicured hand, hearing Ayame turning to leave. "Ayame?"

"Yes Miss Hyuga?"

"Please go tend to the men in the conference room."

When Ayame complied with a bob of her head, Hinata let out a sigh and turned around. Cupping the hot mug in her hands, she let the smell of green tea seep into her senses. Sharpened and ready for business, she stood, with her tea, and took a few sips before grabbing the necessary files and making her way towards the glossy cherry wood double doors.

Wrapping her slender fingers around the shiny brass handle, she admired herself in the reflection. She did look good, thanks to Hanabi. If her little sister hadn't flown in from France just for her, she would have been a little shaggy for this meeting. Her usual designer slacks and blouses weren't going to cut it on this one.

Her glossy black/blue hair was blown out and fell around her shoulders in big soft curls that accented her baby-ish features. Her wide hooded eyes were highlighted in tiny line of tasteful pale blue and lined with blue eyeliner. Her full lips were coated in at least seven coats of gloss. Somehow, she had gotten into the habit of hyper-glossing this morning.

Hinata walked out into the busy hallway and allowed the first person to ask her to take her cup. Her eyes roamed the many people scurrying about and found it hard not to smile. Some were slurping on hot coffee and giving her waves. Others were photocopying documents and heading towards meetings with managers. But they still managed to wave.

For the first time in her life, Hinata cracked her knuckles. She was standing in front of the frosted glass doors to the coziest conference room on the twenty-second floor in her company office. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled slowly and opened the doors with a pleasant smile (closed lip! No one these days really liked teeth except the paparazzi and media.)

"Hello, gentlemen. I'm glad you could make it."

-

Uchiha Sasuke was . . . surprised. Hyuga Hinata was much different than he expected. This woman was wearing designer and three-and-a-half inch sandals. Her red toes somehow went with her outfit. Hinata had done more than just come into the room, she _came into the room_.

She sauntered through those doors like she owned the place, which she did. Her confidence seemed to radiate off her and blow in her your face like an electric fan. Years of ballet had made her posture straight. She seemed to carry herself with the greatest of airs. Hyuga and pride fit so perfectly together that it was practically in their slogan.

She slid into the seat on the right of her father, in the middle of the table, just three seats from him and two seats from her father. A power seat that no one in years would have thought worked. But for Hinata, it did. All eyes were on her because she was in the _middle_ of everything.

"Hello gentlemen. I'm glad you could make it."

Her voice was the biggest surprise. It was soft, gentle, and melodious even. But it was so full of authority, poise and elegance. Doubled with her outfit, she was the exact image of female pride and power. She was in her prime, twenty-seven, and she had twisted the whole Hyuga name around.

Sasuke felt the smug smirk tug at his full lips.

Hinata crossed her legs, showing off the creamy skin and shifted her gaze to his father, Fuguka. "Shall we begin? Or would you like refreshments?"

Just as she said this, the door opened and Ayame slid through with a loaded tray of coffee mugs and coffeecake. Fuguka raised an eyebrow and Hinata rose from her chair, taking the tray from Ayame. After a few quick words, Ayame was leaving and closing the doors gently behind her. Hinata slid the tray into the middle, looking to her father. Her eyes glinted with fear, respect, nervousness and confidence, before confidence settled. Sasuke turned to his brother, Itachi, across the table. They had all seen it. That meant they had a better chance of getting a better deal.

Hinata leaned forward and easily, she poured tea for all of them, her motions fluid and graceful. Not a single drop landed outside the cup. The tea streamed perfectly into the cup. Even her nerves couldn't throw off her extraordinary tea ceremony skills.

Sasuke glanced at his father and felt a little disgusted. The man was practically salivating; he was so amazed by her skills. Sasuke had to admit, she was good, but there was better.

"Enjoy, gentlemen," Hinata set the tea pot down, a smile on her glossed lips. "We can discuss things as we go."

Sasuke kept his face level, locking eyes with the Hyuga. "Then let's start now, Miss Hyuga. I'd like to be out of here quickly."

Hinata bobbed her head, gracefully sliding into the comfortable leather chair. Casually, she unbuttoned the top of her suit, revealing even more of the satin ruffle front blouse underneath. Sasuke would have smirked, but didn't. She was nervous, all the signs were there, and if he was right, that jacket would be buttoned up again in the next few minutes.

He slid the document prepared across to her, leaning forward in his seat. "Good. Let's begin."

Hinata's slender fingers instantly flipped the packet open and barely breathing, she read over the terms. And without the help of her father, began circling things. Sasuke's brow furrowed by the slightest as he turned to face his father and Itachi. Disgusted by their appreciative looks, he turned back to the woman in front of him. This was going to be harder than it looked.

-

Hinata dropped herself in Shino's arms, groaning. Kiba laughed and closed the door with a soft click behind him. Hinata buried her face in the chest of Shino's stark white collard shirt, using him for half of her support. He chuckled, the sound deep from his chest.

"So, how's our little COO doing?" Kiba plopped down on the semi-circle cream leather couch in the corner of her large office.

Hinata reluctantly let go of her friend and joined him on the couch. "Boring and so full of lies it made me think about repenting my sins just to get a fighting chance to heaven."

Shino chuckled. "Then it must have gone well."

Hinata dropped her head on Kiba's shoulder. "It did. They were impressed. Two years of tea ceremony did the trick. Fuguka didn't hesitate in signing that little piece of paper." Her eyes closed and she kicked off her shoes, pulling her legs under her. "It was Uchiha Sasuke I had a real problem with. You could see the disgust in his face whenever he looked to his family. He was not impressed all that much by me. I need to get his trust in the next few weeks or I will be on the outside of everything for the next few decades."

"You could try marrying Itachi." Kiba gave her a grin as her head snapped up, her eyes wide with horror.

Shino reached across and slapped the back of his head, earning a loud "Ow!" and a glare. "Ignore him Hinata. We all know he has issues."

"Like you're one to talk," Kiba grunted sorely. "You're the one who decided getting on the floor and searching for bugs was productive."

"And look at me now. I'm wearing Versace and Hermes, am I not?"

Hinata giggled as Kiba grumbled something under his breath, having not come up with a good enough retort to Shino's. "You guys are too much."

"No, you have too much stress!" Kiba exclaimed, remembering why they had come. "We have come to take you out for dinner!"

Hinata looked to her window, finding the setting sun comforting. "Dinner?"

"Yes, dinner, Hinata." Shino raised an eyebrow. "Are you not free?"

"W-well, I have work and . . ."

"Then it's decided," Kiba jumped up and scooped Hinata up in his arms, earning a squeak. "To dinner we go! I've got coupons."

Their laughter echoed down the hallway.

-

"Nice going teme!" Naruto said the minute Sasuke was within view of the table. Sasuke rolled his onyx eyes and wondered what was so good about signing a contract.

So Uchiha Corp. was going to be turned into Hyuga & Uchiha Co. Big whoop. The Hyuga chick (he had forgotten her name what with all the Miss Hyuga and Mr. Uchiha) hadn't even buttoned her shirt back up. Instead, she took the jacket off and walked around with enthusiasm, further getting Fuguka and Itachi's favor. Damnit, she was good.

Yeah, and somehow, everyone walked out happy. Except for him. Sasuke never did like sharing what was his.

Sakura gave him a flirty smile, tilting her head to show off her glossy pink blowout. "Congrats, Sasuke-kun."

"Whatever," he sighed, sliding into the seat.

"This calls for a celebration!" Naruto pulled out his wallet with a grin. "Order whatever you like! I'm paying!"

"Shut up dimwit," Sasuke scowled, aware that the female population and many little children were staring right at him. "I can not afford to be mobbed today. I've had enough stress for the whole goddamn day."

Sakura shot a glance at a passing waitress. "Don't worry Sasuke-kun. You're in safe hands."

"No where is safe for me," Sasuke muttered under his breath.

"What was that Sasuke-kun?"

"Nothing. Just order so I can eat and get to sleep."

"Jeez teme!" Naruto slapped his shoulder, earning a glare. "PMS-ing is going to get you no where!"

Sasuke cracked his fingers, a menacing air around him. "Hit me one more time and I will show you what PMS-ing _really_ means."

Sakura giggled, watching as the two really went at it. And they hadn't even ordered yet.

* * *

Yeah, starting a new story. I hope you like it!

R&R please! And critize me nicely (please!)


	2. Only Way To Win

"No." Sasuke dropped the manila folder back on the glossy mahogany conference table.

Hinata licked her glossed lips, her lavender orbs connecting with Sasuke's onyx. "And why not, Uchiha-san?"

Itachi, Neji and just about everyone else in the conference room slid back in their chairs a few centimeters, an instant sign that they were not to be a part of this. It had been a month and these two could not agree on _anything_. Hinata's techniques required giving money and donating, which somehow led to more money. Sasuke preyed on the weak and took things, which also led to more money. Their styles were totally different and neither would give in, often having to compromise on something.

In other words, they went with Hinata's way.

"This is utter BS," Sasuke said, his eyes narrowing. "You can't possibly expect that this contract will work."

Hinata jutted out her chin, her own eyes narrowed. "Sasuke, if you have another idea, then say it, otherwise, do not question me."

The tension intensified and Itachi finally stood up, reaching for the folder. Instantly, their eyes snapped to him as he read over the pre-contract, nodding his head subtly. Finally, he lifted his head and faced Sasuke, a small smirk on his otherwise expressionless face.

"I think it a great idea."

Sasuke instantly snatched back the folder. "You agree with anything she says, dumbass. You have no control over this! Sit down!"

Hinata stood from her black cushioned leather swivel chair, her manicured fists pressing into table. In a royal purple silk cap sleeve Versace blouse, gray Vera Wang slacks and aubergine peep-toe sling-backs, she was the picture of sophistication. But the mad glint in her eyes was a sign to back away and take immediate cover five hundred meters from the vicinity.

"Uchiha-san," she said, her eyes boring into his. "For seven years, I have run this company and intended to do just that. But because there were minor complications in that process, I am stuck with you. That does not mean I have to put up with you and you ugly criticism. Now, what is so wrong with the damn thing that you can't seem to agree, hmmm?"

Sasuke thinned his lips, standing as well. There was a true face off and if someone did not do something soon, there was going to be an incident and someone(s) was/were going to be hurt . . . badly.

"Hyuga-san," he gritted out. "This contract will make us liable for fourteen million dollars. And if we lose that, we lose the deal we have in Hong Kong to take our company global. If you drop this now, before it can start, you'll be in a lot safer area. There are several other options and I am sure that this is not the best one for anyone."

Quiet. Silence, utter silence.

The board members looked to Hinata who slowly corrected her posture. She motioned towards Takashi Jiro, the company's account/stockbroker.

"Please tell what he says is incorrect, Mr. Takashi." Her eyes landed on him with such intensity, he flinched. It was the kind of authority that said I-am-your-boss-and-I-will-have-you-fired-on-the-spot-if-you-do-not-obey. But Sasuke's rivaling Mess-this-up-and-I-will-make-sure-you-never-see-the-light-of-day was just as intimidating.

He looked to his lap, where the folders and such he needed were. "Uh . . . A-actually, U-uchiha-sama is right, Hyuga-sama. We would be l-liable for fourteen million and r-rivaling companies c-could use this t-to their advantage." He cringed again as her eyes widened with surprise and cold contempt.

Pressing her lips together, she looked to the table. The long curls that framed her face fell about her shoulders and she let out a deep, slow breath. Her heart was hammering against her chest with adrenaline but if what Jiro just said was true then-

"Like I said before," Sasuke smirked, holding the file up and facing her. "This is not something we can possibly commit to." He set it down gently and Hinata faced him, her face utterly straight, calm, expressionless, blank. Some of the board members shuddered. That look did not come from victory; it was a show of not losing. But it was an obvious sign of defeat.

"Fine," she sighed, her delicate ivory fingers layering over his, her eyes locking with his. "I'll have father and Fuguka look into it and we'll come to some compromise. Other than that, meeting adjourned."

Sasuke's jaw squared as she pulled that card _again_. When was it going to end? It seemed like everyone was ruling in favor of her these days. When were they going to realize that he was boss just as well as everyone else?

As the men and women filed out of the room, Hinata stayed, sitting in her middle seat. A large bay window looked out across the city and Sasuke leaned against the table, folding his arms in his black collard shirt, expensive Gucci dress pants and glossy shoes. This bitch was seriously getting on his nerves.

"Meeting adjourned, Uchiha-san," Hinata regarded him coolly, her fingers laced together. Just a hint of malice was in her voice.

He faced her, his jaw squared. "I do not understand why you pulled that little number again, _Hyuga_." He spat her name out like it didn't belong anywhere near him.

Her eyes narrowed. "Because, _Uchiha_, I do not intend to share with you. It took me years to gain my father's approval and even more to make myself worthy for this job. I give two-hundred-and-ten percent into my duties and you waltz in like there is nothing to it. I will not allow you to until you can prove to me that you are just as willing as I am."

"When will you learn," he shook his head. "It was not my decision to come here in the first place. It was my loser of a father's. I did not decide to become COO of the Hyuga & Uchiha Co-Op because I wanted to. No, my father did that for me." He got right in her face, anger flashing in his eyes. "So damnit, I expect a little respect from you, if you're so damn willing to run this fucking hellhole."

She shot out of her seat, glaring back with as much intensity as she could, even though she was shaking. "Do you realize who you are talking to Uchiha? If I remember correctly, it was you who agreed that we should become one company. It was you who decided that we would split the profits-,"

"You know damn well that was my father."

Her eyes lowered themselves as she turned away from him, resting a hand on the table. "What I can not understand is why you believe you have a say in what _my_ company does. I've been working on this contract for the last several months. There is no way I am going to throw it away because we become liable for fourteen million dollars. We have enough money, we are not cash poor. Fourteen million dollars won't make a difference in our treasury."

"That's your problem, Hyuga. It will. Fourteen million will take a hell of a lot out of us and I, for one, am not prepared to have to deal with a bunch of motherfuckers trying to get a piece of our profits." Sasuke's eyes bore into her own as she turned to face him. "We can not afford to lose fourteen million dollars. _No one_ can afford to lose fourteen million dollars, Hyuga."

She stepped closer, her delicate nose practically touching his. "Get out of my-,"

"What do we have here?"

Both whipped their head around to face Itachi, Neji, Fuguka and Hiashi, watching them with interest. Hinata stepped away from him and Sasuke unclenched his fists, both bowing to their fathers.

"I believe the children are having another disagreement," Hiashi smirked as Fuguka, Neji and Itachi chuckled. Both took their places at the heads of the table and Hinata sat across from Sasuke, Itachi on his side while Neji on hers.

"That's just not good for business you know," Fuguka looked from the both of them as they looked anywhere but each other. "You two are seriously getting on my nerves. Now, tell me what the hell is wrong with the two of you."

"Why don't you ask _her_?" Sasuke snapped. "_She_ believes I have no say in what goes on in this company because it is supposedly _hers_."

"It is _mine_," Hinata said calmly. "_I_ have controlling vote and _I_ decide what goes and what doesn't."

"Let me remind you," Sasuke spat, "that _we_ have controlling vote. Not you, not me, _we_. Get that through your pretty little head."

Hinata stood, Sasuke right after her. "Let me remind you, Uchiha-san-!"

"Sit down both of you," Hiashi ordered and both lowered themselves into their seats. Itachi and Neji cast each other amused glances as Hiashi glared from one to the other. "This is ridiculous, Hinata. This is a disgrace. I expected you to welcome your new partner, not tear the damn company apart! Neither of you have controlling vote. Fuguka and I do. Now quit your damn bickering and make up! I will not have tensions running in my office, understood."

"Yes father," Hinata said, her eyes locked with Sasuke's. "May I leave now?"

"Hell no! Not until you've cast your differences aside and make up! Now!" Fuguka glared at his son. "I mean it Sasuke. If you can't make this work then I can just fire one of you and get it over with. Hinata's done a fantastic job running this company without you. We don't need your bullshit."

Hinata felt her heartstrings twang painfully as Sasuke began to argue with his father. That was something she had not expected. Of course, Hiashi's words no longer hurt that much, but to have a complement thrown her way and to have Sasuke's pride slapped like that was just brutal.

So she apologized first, just to show she was actually _feeling_ sorry.

Tentatively, she reached a hand across to Sasuke, her gold charm bracelet (a gift from Shino and Kiba. There was even a butterfly and crown on it) her eyes locked with his in a sign of trust. The room grew silent as Sasuke looked from her hands to her eyes, deciding whether he should ask for a verbal apology or get it over with.

"I apologize, Uchiha-san, for my rude actions and comments." Hinata raised her chin. "Can you forgive me?"

Sasuke sighed and gave her hand a quick pump. "I also apologize for my actions, Hyuga-san."

"Good," Hiashi and Fuguka stood, eyeing them as Neji and Itachi did the same. "We expect better from you. I can assure that now you can come to a compromise about that contract."

The door closed and Hinata sat back in her chair with a sigh. Sasuke ran a hand through his hair before both looked to each other. He coughed into his hand and Hinata drummed her hands on her lap.

"Meeting adjourned Hyuga," Sasuke smirked as her eyes shot up to his, wide with surprise. "We both got our thirty lashes, I think we're free now."

A soft giggled bubbled from her throat and she slipped from her chair, heading towards the door. Sasuke reached for the folder and chucked it in the trash immediately after the doors closed. This time, little Miss Perfect was not going to get her way. He'd make sure of that.


	3. I'ma Buy U A Drink

Hinata's eyes roamed over the new contract before she looked to Sasuke. He sat in the tan leather chair in front of her, straight-faced as usual. Rolling her lips, she gently placed the file back on her desk, looking to it. This new contract was definitely ruling in his favor, but it was still within her boundaries, though they were very close to being over the line, and yet somehow, he was confident it was going to work. No one in their right mind would pass up a chance to have connections to the largest company in Japan. No one with a half a brain anyways.

Sasuke rested his chin in a fist, trying to hide his smirk. "Is that up to standards for you, Hyuga-san?"

Her eyes rested on the folder and she laced her fingers together. "Its fine, Uchiha-san." Her nail tapped the folder and she gave him a defeated, but graceful smile, enjoying the surprised look on his face. "I don't believe I could have done a better job . . ."

"Thank you."

"For trash." She easily shoved it over the side of her desk, into the waste bin beside her desk, matching his glare. "Uchiha, we did not combine this company just for it to become your play thing. Your risk-taking may have gotten you far in the past, but it's going to do nothing for our future. So think before you do anything in the present."

He stood and leaned over the desk and immediately, both went into a heated "discussion". They barely noticed when the door opened and Yuki, Sasuke's personal secretary, and Ayame walked in. Both girls nervously looked to the other, Yuki holding a day planner and Ayame holding a manila envelope.

Hinata held her palm up and while glaring at a quiet Sasuke, motioned from them to come over. Yuki and Ayame tentatively stepped forward until they were standing on either side of Sasuke.

"Yes, girls?" Hinata looked to them, a brush stroke eyebrow raised.

"You have a conference in the twenty-second conference room in one hour," Yuki said in her quiet voice.

"Mr. Kin has sent a contract for you already," Ayame went to hand the folder to a surprised Hinata when Sasuke jumped up and snatched it from her with a "Give me that".

"Uchiha-san!" Hinata stood, clearly agitated. "I've had just about enough of you-!" She blinked as he slapped the contract down on the desk, leaning over her shoulder. Quickly, their eyes scanned the contract before Hinata huffed and Sasuke dropped it in the trash.

"That was utter bull-," Sasuke muttered before Hinata cut him off.

"Call Mr. Kin and say we have this covered," Hinata smiled at Yuki, reaching into the bin and yanking out Sasuke's, glad she hadn't dropped her lunch in. "We'll be meeting him in the conference room, yes?"

"Um, actually no," Yuki said, brushing a stray strand of over-processed pearly purple hair from her face, even though it was in a cute short style. "He wishes for you meet at his favorite restaurant in two months. He's taking a class for Japanese so he can impress . . ." she trailed off, looking from Hinata to the ground.

Ayame lifted a hand to her glossed mouth and widened her eyes, looking away. Sasuke smirked behind Hinata and she grunted, pressing a hand to her forehead. The moment passed and both girls left, leaving Sasuke to smirk at Hinata who was reasonably upset.

"You have a wealthy old man crushing on you." Sasuke blinked and shook his head of images. "That's going to be harsh on you."

"What do you mean harsh?" Hinata looked to him, checking over his files.

"Just think of having sex with rubber, _without_ the rubber." He smirked as her face turned purple in a hot second. "That's just nasty. I don't know if you would really enjoy that."

"And what, you think you're any better?" Hinata mumbled under her breath, bending down immediately to reach for a drawer.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means everything Uchiha-san," she giggled, digging through her file drawer. "Unfortunately, you don't have everything!"

-

"So," Neji raised his hand, sitting beside Itachi who was, looking to Hinata and Sasuke in the front. "If this all works out, then we will be fourteen million richer?"

Hinata smiled at her cousin, turning to jot down a quick number on the Smart Board behind her. "Actually, this will give us-," she abruptly turned to Sasuke. "Why don't you tell them?"

He blinked in the project light and easily pulled the plug with his foot, earning him a glare from Hinata. "Twenty-five million."

The room took a deep breath and then the murmuring began. Hinata nudged Sasuke with a smile before reading over the contract. Then her smile dropped and he read over her shoulder, wondering what was so wrong.

She waved it under his nose. "What the hell is this?" Her voice was barely above a hiss and he didn't know it was to make it seem like she was discussing something quietly with him or it that was intestinal.

"What?" he hissed back. "I don't understand what's so bad about it! It's not like I'm going to take him and demolish him, sending him into early retirement!"

"Yes you will, Uchiha! This twenty-five million is going to wreck this little man! We can't possibly do that to him!"

"Yes we can! Otherwise, someone else will do it to us! We have to be prepared! You think he's going to sit around waiting for us! I bet his contract was going to require some money from us too! I bet a lot more than fourteen million!"

They really went into it, their voices rising to very loud rant. The board members look to each other and some were actually glad Hiashi and Fuguka weren't in the room. It seemed as if these two would be getting a paddling very soon.

Hinata tugged on Sasuke's red satin tie and slapped the table with her free hand, barking out "Meeting adjourned!"

The men and women scrabbled from the room while Itachi and Neji took their sweet time, chatting the whole way. Hinata and Sasuke kept at it, adding dramatic gesturing and lots of eye rolling/sarcasm (on Sasuke's part). They barely noticed the two standing in the doorway.

"Why don't you two just have hot hate sex on the conference table now?" Itachi smirked as Neji's grew grim. "I'm sure that would be much better than arguing like you don't love each other."

Sasuke shot him a glare as Hinata dropped her head in her hand, the other resting on the table. "Why don't you go grab a vibrator and have fun in your office? I'm sure Neji can help you!"

Hinata slapped his shoulder defensively. "Do _not_ involve Neji-niisan in _your_ brother's affairs! He has _nothing_ to do with this!"

"Oh, _please_, Hyuga! Don't get me _started_ on your precious '_niisan_'!"

Neji turned to Itachi. "I think you might be right. I've never seen Hinata-sama get that far in someone's face with just yelling."

Itachi brushed lint from his tawny beige Gucci suit, smirking. "The more heated discussions in the office hours, the more passionate sex after the office hours. Think of it like this, she's screaming in his face now, just wait until they're alone!"

"Neji-niisan, Itachi-san! Please leave us be so we may discuss!"

"Discuss away," Itachi smirked over his shoulder. "Just remember to stay protected!"

"Drop it!" was Sasuke's responsive bark.

-

"A drink?" Hinata continued staring at the photocopier, her nail jammed into the button for it to copy.

"You shouldn't listen in on other people's conversation, Hyuga," Sasuke leaned against the open window of the break room, which also held the photocopier. A cigarette dangled from his full lips as he played with his phone and Hinata regarded it with disgust. "It's rude." He quit scrolling through his messages.

She shook her head slowly, taking the copies she made. "Having a drink after work isn't good, Uchiha-san. It leads to another and eventually you're too drunk to make head or tail of anything and you're swept up in temptation."

"I have mistaken you. I will not give in to temptation, O Holy One."

Hinata glared at him. "I'm serious, Uchiha-san. You're only asking to hurt someone tonight. And when you do, I won't be the one on the other end when you receive that "you are the father" phone call."

"Been watching Maury I see."

"Hush you!"

He blew his smoke out the window, lounging in a chair. "Why do you care anyways? If I were a father, it would end my tempting ways, wouldn't it? It would give you something to hold over me and clean up my act, right?"

Hinata looked to him, holding her necessary files. "Uchiha-san, no matter what I say, I care for everyone. I may not care as much for such person, but when the time comes, I will do everything in my power to make sure that person is all right in a time of need." Her eyes leveled with his, the evening sun glinting in her pearly orbs. "There may be a time when I need help and there is no one there to really help. But at least I know that I helped a lot more people than there was to help me."

Sasuke whistled, nodding his head. "That's deep, Hyuga."

She smiled, turning back to the copier in her tea green satin cap-sleeve blouse and cool gray pencil skirt. "Thank you Uchiha-san, I try."

"Do you want to go out for a drink?"

-

Hinata slipped from Sasuke's Mazda Mazda6, her lavender eyes wide. She chewed her lip and wondered why in the world she had decided to go out for a drink with the most eligible bachelor in Tokyo's history.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as she fussed at her navy blue cropped drawstring cargos and purple off-the-shoulder top. "Quit fidgeting, you'll be fine. You're with me, Hyuga."

She stepped a little closer to him, avoiding two girls that were giggling. One was practically falling over from laughter, her metallic gold mini halter dress hitching up to reveal her florescent pink thong. Hinata instantly snapped her head back, blushing furiously as she hung closer to Sasuke.

In a gray and black stripped polo shirt and designer jeans, Sasuke actually passed for good-looking. No, scratch that. If he wore potato sack, he would just be good looking. No, this man was gorgeous _even_ in a polo shirt.

"Uchiha-san," Hinata fisted the back of his shirt and got a responsive hand on her lower back. "I'm not so sure about this place."

"You'll be fine. It's just a bar."

Looking around, it was just that. Men and women were everywhere, enjoying themselves, laughing. It wasn't what she thought a bar was. Where people hooked up and made out in corners, or did tequila shots-

"What is that woman doing!" She had to hiss in his ear the music was so loud.

Sasuke blinked, leading her to a barstool. "Shots. It's okay, you won't have to do that, so calm down." He furrowed his brow and checked his watch. "Actually, Naruto and Sakura are supposed to be here so . . ."

Hinata hoisted herself up on the stool, pressing her knees together. Her petite feet were adorned by cute fuchsia sling back wedges and her eyes wandered over the place. It was a nice size. There was a place in the middle of all the tables where people could dance to the music. Quite a few actually were. It was lowered so that tables and booths could be set up around it and it was actually a nice atmosphere.

"And there they are, Twiddle D and Twiddle Dumb," Sasuke muttered, handing her a can of beer. She hadn't even realized he had been away.

Sakura and Naruto's eyes widened, looking to Hinata who was sitting on a barstool, before switching to Sasuke who was leaning on the bar's counter.

Sakura smiled brightly, wearing a turquoise V-neck and khaki pencil skirt, her hair pulled back into slick, tight bun, her pink bangs swept to the side.

"Hello, I'm Haruno Sakura, this is Uzimaki Naruto." She shook Hinata's hand with a gracious smile.

Hinata nodded, a faint flush to her cheeks. The heat in the place was getting to her. "I'm Hyuga Hinata, Sasuke's partner in crime."

Sasuke snorted in laughter as her blush came on full tilt. "I-I meant his p-partner in o-office. T-that's just a silly o-office term."

Naruto laughed, grinning at her. "Cool! So this is the chick Sasuke's always complaining about! You know, teme can never be truly happy unless he gets what he wants!"

Sakura slapped his shoulder, her eyebrow twitching before giving Hinata a sweet smile as the girl paled. "Are you a friend of Sasuke's then?"

"He asked me for a drink."

Sasuke smirked as Naruto's eyes widened. "True."

Sakura looked to Hinata. "What for?"

"She got holier than thou on me, Sakura. She's crazy is what she is. I just wanted to see what she was like drunk."

Hinata's face turned purple as she slapped his arm. "No! Take me home! That's not funny, Uchiha-san!"

He snickered. "I think it is. No worries, Hyuga. I won't take advantage of you." He and Naruto began laughing as Sakura shook her head at a paling Hinata.

"Don't worry, Hinata-san. You're in safe hands." She patted her shoulder reassuringly and Hinata nodded slowly, sipping on her beer. It actually wasn't half bad.

* * *

I know, I know, a drink! Holy cow! Hinata would never go out for a drink!

Well, she did, so deal.

I know, a little OOC, but I shall tune down some! I'll try!

R&R please and thank you!


	4. Betting on Beers

Neji sighed, pulling out his wallet. "I can _not_ believe I owe you money."

"See," Itachi chuckled, holding his hand out. "That's what you get for not believing when I say they act like they don't like each other. It was bound to happen."

Neji shook his head, slapping the money in his hand. "Hiashi is not going to be pleased when he sees this."

"Like I give a fuck for Hiashi or my father," Itachi muttered, heading towards the elevator. "Come on. We should meet them, see what reaction we get."

"Oh, I'd love to see Hinata's face when we find her coming in an hour late."

-

Hinata walked cautiously ahead of Sasuke, her hair swept up in an elegant bun with the bangs swept to the side. Today, she was dressed in a black V-neck blouse with three-quarter length sleeves and khaki slacks; her feet adorned by gorgeous black silver-buckled Gucci peep-toe four-inch pumps. She was almost as tall as Sasuke's chin in these shoes. But her head was spinning and every few seconds, she felt like she was going to drop to her knees and retch all over the sidewalk.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the cleansing crisp spring morning air and released, letting the nauseating feeling go for the next few minutes or so.

"Feeling better Hyuga?" Sasuke said, a pair of designer sunglasses resting on his straight nose.

She eyed him, a dark cloud seemingly over her head. "Why did I let you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You know what!"

"Because I could."

"Because you could!"

"Yes, that's why." He smirked and held the door open for her.

She latched onto his sleeve as she felt herself tilting drastically to one side. "I am feeling so dreary; I can't even find the words to insult you."

"I love you too."

"I knew it!" Itachi smirked at Neji. "Oh, I so knew it!"

Neji sighed, taking out his wallet again. "That was a good prediction. Next time, next time."

Hinata blinked and the room started spinning. "Uchiha-san, I think I'm going to hurl."

"Then in the direction of the two baboons please. This is a new Armani suit and I rarely go shopping as it is."

"Wait, what?!"

She turned her head and groaned. "Hai, just don't get mad it there's a splatter."

"No, what are you-!"

"You'll pay for my dry-cleaning."

"What the hell-!"

"Got it."

"No!"

-

Hiashi and Fuguka watched as Sasuke let Hinata's head rest on his shoulder, reading over the contents of a manila envelope. She buried her face in the fabric, rubbing at her temples as if that would ease the fog in her mind. It was surprising really, to watch him help her into the conference room, then to help her sit and then to let her head rest on his shoulder.

Fuguka recovered first, coughing into his fist. "So, are you friends now?"

"No!" Hinata sat up and hit Sasuke's shoulder as hard as she could in her stupor. "If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be like this."

Neji glared at them. "Then you shouldn't have gone out in the first place. It was a Thursday, not a Friday."

"Like I give a fuck, Neji," Sasuke said, reading over his files. "She got holier than thou on me and I decided to take her down a notch."

"Is that what this is about!"

"Yes, and quit yelling. You're hung over. You shouldn't even be here."

"I hate you so much."

"I love you too."

"May we get on with the meeting?" Hiashi looked from one to the other. "Mr. Kin has no problem with the contract, but I heard that yesterday you two got in a fight? Again?"

Hinata suddenly bounced back with renewed vigor and kept her eyes focused on the table. "We've worked it out already, sir."

"Really, I didn't see the condom paper in the trash," Itachi smirked as Hiashi and Fuguka looked to the two.

Sasuke threw a balled up piece of paper at him. "Fuck you, gay boy."

"No, you're supposed to do that to Hinata. Not me." Itachi shook his head as Neji dropped his head into his hands, whether it was to hold back laughter, no one knew. "Foolish little brother."

"Why I should-!"

"You shouldn't do anything," Fuguka barked, looking to his sons before resting on Hinata. "Please, princess, tell me what is going on between my son and you?"

Hinata felt her face heat up. "N-nothing sir! They-!"

"Denial. It was bound to happen," Itachi mumbled to Neji who was having a hard enough time trying not to smile.

"Shut up, Itachi!"

"Is it, Hinata?" Hiashi's infamous stare was hitting her like rocks in an asteroid belt.

She shook her head vigorously, even though it made the pounding get stronger. "N-no! W-we just w-went o-out for d-drink! I s-swear!"

Sasuke aimed another paper at Itachi's head. "One more word out of you. Just one more and there _will_ be a stapler coming for you."

Itachi raised his hands. "Fine. I wont say anything . . . except for the truth."

"And what is the truth?" Fuguka looked to Itachi.

"That they had hot hate sex in the conference room on the twenty-second floor."

"I swear to f-ing God Itachi!"

Hinata squealed and promptly fainted, earning Itachi a glare from Sasuke who was supporting her unconscious figure. "Take that back, Itachi!"

Fuguka dropped his head in his hands and Hiashi waved a hand in the air tiredly. "Meeting adjourned. You may leave."

Sasuke easily lifted Hinata from her seat and stormed from the room; clearly pissed he had to carry his unconscious co-worker up to her office on the thirty-second floor.

-

"I hate you," Hinata said, holding her throbbing head as she leaned sat on the floor of her private bathroom.

"Hyuga, please. You were sick, what do you expect me to do?" Sasuke leaned against the door.

Hinata dropped her head in her hands, leaning her back against the door as she sat on the floor. "Don't get me started. I could have died, Uchiha! From lack of oxygen!"

"You were fine. I held your head above the water as you puked."

"That's not the point! You could have woken me up or something!"

"Why would I do that? You're feeling better after your nap, aren't you?"

She pouted, her eyes level with Sasuke's even though he towered over her because she sat on the floor. "The point is, is that you left me in the bathroom to go back to the meeting! That's not cool, Uchiha-san."

"Who said I was cool?" he smirked and helped her up. "Now let's go. We have to impress another group of people with our extraordinary arguing skills."

"Extraordinary skills, yes," Hinata rolled her eyes, walking out the door passed him. "We're so amazingly talented; we do a better job than the little eighth graders debating!"

"Hey now, there's no need for insults, Hyuga. We're on the job."

"And soon we'll be nothing."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because that's father coming right towards us and he does not look happy."

"Damnit, what now?"

* * *

I LOL'D XDDDD Did you enjoy that?

I know, I know! Itachi was a little . . . OOC and I apologize. He shall a be a little better in the future.

I want to thank you for the reviews! You guys rock! Keep 'em coming and there shall be more! xDDDD


	5. Keeping in Check

"I cannot believe I'm doing this," Hinata sighed, straightening her tea-green long sleeve V-neck tee and black tiered peasant skirt that stopped just a few inches above her knees, showing off her long creamy legs. For five foot five, she was actually pretty slim and curvy. Her petite feet were shoved into black high-heeled Chloe Mary Janes and her glossy blue hair was straightened and held back with a black wide cotton headband.

Sasuke shook his head, dressed in an untucked button-down mustard yellow shirt, dark wash Capezio jeans and comfortable shoes. He looked a little more casual instead of Hinata's all business meets at-home style. She looked like her office _was_ her home.

He stuck a cigarette between his lips and cupped his hand around the flame of his silver lighter. "Just deal Hyuga. So Mr. Kin got a little sick. He's fine."

Her eyes drifted to the floor. "If he dies . . ." She closed her eyes and smacked her lips, clearly trying to get rid of the image. "I have to deal with his twenty-four-year-old son who will own the company."

"That's better than having rubber in bed with you."

He smirked as she pointedly turned her head away from him. Her gold studs glittered in the spring air and she unconsciously played with her charm bracelet. He noticed she had gotten a gold ink pen and gold ink container to go on it. He smirked, how cute.

"Oh!" Hinata sighed impatiently, checking her white Motorola Razr with little lavender polka-dots. "We have a meeting in a few hours and if he insists on being late then-!"

Sasuke took the phone from her, placing it in his back pocket. "Relax Your Majesty. He's coming."

"You're awfully calm about this, Sasuke! You have to be in a meeting as well. I expect better of you! This is a meeting of business, not for your pleasure- Hey!"

He yanked her down and sat her on his lap, sitting on the hood of the midnight blue Mazda Mazda6. "Like I said, relax, Your Highness. He is going to be here."

She wriggled around but he kept a firm grip on her waist. She finally gave up and he let her go, going to get a can of tomato juice from a nearby vending machine. Not two seconds later, he was back and Hitachi, Mr. Kin's son, was speeding up in a candy-apple red Cadillac Convertible. He was a handsome man with jet black hair and dressed very young.

He slid out of the tan leather seats, aviator glasses of his black eyes, hair spiked up in a very modern fashion. His clothes were stylish: a white pre-splattered tee and Ralph Lauren close-fitting light destructed jeans. A pretty girl with wavy blond hair and blue eyes slid out of the car and flashed them a movie star smile, dressed in a candy-apple red strapless smocked mini dress and matching wedges.

Hinata and Sasuke each had the same thought; this kid was flashy.

He gave them a smile worthy of Brad Pitt, his Japanese perfectly flawless. "Hello. You two must be Hyuga Hinata and Uchiha Sasuke." He jerked his thumb towards Candy Apple who was beside him. "This is Kandi. She's from the states."

"Hello!" Kandi giggled, clutching his arm and speaking flawless . . . Spanish. "It's nice to meet you."

"Babe, Japanese." Hitachi looked at her over his aviators.

"Oh," she giggled in English before switching to almost perfect Japanese. "My bad!"

Hinata bobbed her head with Sasuke. "A pleasure for us as well."

Hitachi looked to the hospital, not a few feet away since they were in the parking lot. "I was in the states when I got the news of my father. I'm almost sorry to hear what happened to him. But it was coming."

Hinata's eyes widened with surprise and narrowed almost immediately in contempt and Sasuke barely had enough time to jump in before she began lecturing him. "Why do you say that?"

Hitachi smirked as Hinata struggled to control her breathing. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine. Tell us why you think that."

"He's been sick forever," Hitachi rolled his eyes as Kandi nodded along side him. "We've told him a thousand times before, don't do this, don't do that. But he does. And now he's paying the price."

"Your father is in ICU!" Hinata squeaked, tears in her eyes. "And you don't care about that at all!"

Sasuke gritted his teeth and shot her a glare, which she immediately brushed off with barely a glance.

Hitachi looked to her before looking to Sasuke. "You better keep your woman in check or someone is going to get hurt."

Sasuke rested a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, causing her to shut her lips tightly. "Right of course. We just came to say our apologizes for your father. We did not mean to cause trouble, _right Hinata_?"

She took a breath and smiled, bowing deeply. "I apologize, Hitachi-san. I did not mean to be rude."

Hitachi smirked again. "No problem. To let you know, I probably will be taking the company over." He winked at her. "And I know you guys aren't dating. So be careful."

Kandi didn't look the slightest bit offended, instead clapping her French-manicured hands and bouncing in her ultra-high wedges. Hinata's face turned the color purple and Sasuke smirked, bobbing his head and Hitachi headed for the entrance.

"Why, why, oh why." Hinata massaged her temples. "Why me? What did I do? What is _possibly_ wrong with me?"

"Your tight ass, your huge knockers, your innocent appearance." Sasuke used his fingers to check off his list. "Should I keep going?"

She squared her jaw. "Forget you."

"Strong words, Hyuga."

She held up a palm and opened the door to his Mazda. "Take me home. This instant. I don't need to be verbally raped today. There is too much for me to do and I have absolutely no time."

Sasuke glared at her. "You asked to have what was listed. Don't get angry with me. You were the one he hit on."

"I'm not talking to you!"

"You're never talking to me! You're always _yelling_!"

"Just _drive_ Uchiha-san!"

"Bossy much? Got a stick shoved up your ass?"

"Forget you Uchiha-san! I will hail a taxi!"

"Ha! You didn't bring you designer purse, Hyuga! How are you going to go anywhere?"

"I will walk!"

"In those things? I think not!"

"Then _drive_, Uchiha!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Drive or I will drive for you!"

"Fuck no! This is brand new! Think I want you behind this? I've never _even_ seen you drive!"

Hinata narrowed her eyes. "The pearl white BMW coupe, Uchiha. The one so perfectly clean and unmarked, people have asked me if it was new."

He glared right back at her. "Two months. That's all it's going to take. Two months and that pretty little baby of yours is going _downhill_!"

She sharply turned her head away, crossing her arms over her ample chest and tucking her ankle behind her leg. "This discussion is over! I will not tolerate you for any longer."

"Then get out!"

"I have every right to be in this car Uchiha! Just please, take me home, so I can change!"

He turned the key in the ignition and pressed down on the gas pedal, shooting out of the parking lot. Hinata jerked forward and glared at her lap as she clumsily tried to put on her seatbelt. After a few minutes of fumbling, Sasuke grunted and reached over. Slapping her fingers out of the way, he snapped in the buckle and the issue was dropped.

-

"He's not going to go for this Hyuga! And you _know_ it!" Sasuke waved the documents under Hinata's nose. He had changed into a white button-down shirt and gray Hermes dress pants. "He doesn't want money! He wants to take money! Build up to it and snatch it! Not be given money!"

Hinata reached for the file, angrily snapping back in his face as he held it away. "I know what he wants, Uchiha! Give me the damn file and I will fix it! Otherwise, quit your babbling!"

"Hyuga, you're not going to fix it! You're going to file it and then present it to him so that he can make us liable for another twenty-five thousand that we cannot afford to lose! We've got four offices being put up in Hong Kong and several other sites across Asia! We can not afford to lose twenty-five thousand! Whether you like it or not!"

"Yes we can, Uchiha! We can make more money! You don't have to get defensive! The resolve will be fixed. No one is going to miss twenty-five thousand! It will not make us liable!"

"Yes it will! See, that's your problem! You believe we have all this money-!"

"WE DO."

"WE DON'T! I'm trying to tell you that we don't! I check with our accountants everyday, Hyuga! We, no one really, can afford to lose twenty-five thousand because we're helping a 'friend'!"

Hinata grinded her teeth, glaring up at Sasuke. She had changed into a white button-down with a chocolate brown tube skirt and brown patent leather pumps. She had tugged her hair back into a slick ponytail and swept her bangs to the side. It was a very casual office outfit, but she had left the top two buttons undone in her haste to get out the door and back to work.

"Uchiha, we have more than enough money. We are not cash poor," she spat each syllable out. "If there is a problem with the damn thing, then we will take it to Hiashi and-,"

"No, we won't!" Sasuke dropped the file on her desk. "What is it with you and taking everything to the upstairs? I can't see why we can't just work it out now! If you would quit being so stubborn and listen to me for once-!"

"I am stubborn, Uchiha-san?" She whirled on him, snapping his face. "I believe it is you with the problem! I see nothing wrong with the contract in the first place! You're just in here to make drama and I'm sick of it! Ever since you got here, you've been ruining everything!"

"I ruin everything! That's a laugh, Hyuga! You make it seem like this is _your_ company! This is my company as well! Why can't you for once just agree that I'm right and we won't have to deal with this every again?"

"Because you are wrong! Everything that you've put out is wrong! Documents, ideas, comments! Wrong, wrong, wrong! I'm right and you're not! Quit trying to make me the bad guy!"

"I'm not, Hyuga! You're making me act like the bad guy! All I'm trying to do is find out why the hell we can't come to agreement! It's like you're intent on making sure I have no say in what goes on in this company! I'm just as important as you! Don't make it seem like you've got all this responsibility that I'm supposedly shoving on you because I'm some slacker!"

She looked to the floor and Sasuke sank into a chair, rubbing his face. The silence stretched on and Hinata sat across from him, in the usual middle chair. It was nature for her to sit in the middle like it was nature for him to sit at the head of the table across from his father with Itachi on his right side.

Hinata hoisted herself up on the table, crossing her legs and lacing her fingers. "I think we should re-write the contract together."

"Agreed," Sasuke's quick response. "We should discuss things before trying to change anything."

"Agreed. And we shouldn't bicker so often. It's tearing the company apart."

Agreed. Shake on it?"

She smiled and reached across, giving a quick pump before jumping down and grabbing the file. In one swift moment she had ripped it in half and thrown it into the trash, walking past Sasuke and out the conference's frosted Plexiglas doors.

For once, they were actually agreeing on something other than that the other was very wrong.

* * *

Well now . . . I have no comment on that XDDDD

Anyways, Hinata is seeming pretty selfish . . . But it works . . . Right?

Tell me (nicely) in your wonderful, wonderful reviews ^^


	6. Cute Bastards and the Rain

Hinata placed her hands on the hood of midnight blue Mazda Mazda6, to steady the shaking in her body. The cool metal against the palm of her hands barely went up to her Chanel Allure-drenched wrists and didn't help the wrathful thoughts that she was trying to get rid of.

After Mr. Kin's death, a week after they gave their apologies, Hitachi called them out to a cruise boat for a dinner. The yacht was huge but the three of them could easily say their father's was bigger. Everything was perfect, the food, the discussions, the talking, everything. And then Hitachi had said he wasn't going to sign the contract.

"Motherfucking bastard!" Hinata wanted to scream but didn't. Instead, she pressed a hand to her forehead and wondered why she had gotten so dressed up. In a black strapless chiffon Versace tea-length dress and red silver-buckled peep-toe Coach pumps, she looked beautiful. A broad red leather belt sat around her midriff, just under her ample chest. Her hair had been blown out and gold hoops dangled from her ear lobes. And yet everything was a total waste of time.

"Sasuke," she said, closing her eyes. "Did you feel that?"

"Feel what?" he grunted, popping a cigarette between his full lips and cupping the lighter.

She snapped her eyes open and they both looked to the sky. In a matter of seconds, they were drenched and Hinata let out a tired sigh, waving her hand at the car. She felt like crying. Just the thing to ruin her day.

Sasuke gave the finger to the sky, grinding his now useless cigarette into the ground. "Fuck this day, and fuck everything else before it."

Hinata dropped her head on his shoulder. "Just take me home. So I can cry in peace."

Sasuke complied and they piled into the Mazda, driving quickly away from the dock where the boat was. Hinata dropped her head against the gray leather seats, a hand on her forehead. She could have used a stiff drink and wouldn't have passed up the chance if given. Her day was fucked anyways. Might as well get drunk to end with a finish.

"Hiashi and Fuguka are not going to be pleased," she whimpered, pressing her throbbing head to the window.

"Don't remind me," Sasuke grunted, his hands clutching the wheel.

Hinata pressed the tips of her French-manicured fingers to her temple. "I'm going to get revoked. Criticized. Hiashi's going to be pissed. I have too many things to do. Our strongest connection in Hong Kong is gone. We'll have to stop the production on our towers in Hong Kong."

"At least we didn't lose any money," Sasuke attempted. He didn't want to hear about their failure. He'd get it tomorrow, on Monday, when Fuguka would begin shoveling it in his face and saying how lucky he was Itachi decided to pass of the title of COO to him.

"I need a stiff drink," Hinata sighed, turning to Sasuke. "I've got really strong wine at home. Barely a dent in it."

"I'm game."

Hinata's shoulders dropped as she sighed, reaching for her red leather Coach tote to pull out her white Razr, dialing her father on speed-dial. "I suggest you stay with me. Fuguka might want to hunt you down."

Chuckling at her joke, they turned painfully silent as Hiashi picked up.

Hinata rubbed her forehead, looking to her lap. "Hi, daddy. No, nothing's wrong, why would you ask that?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as she cringed, realizing she had used her old term for when things got bad. "Hello, big hint something's wrong."

She sighed again, shooting him a that-did-not-help-and-you-know-it glance. "Well, he didn't . . . he didn't sign, father. He, um, told us that he wasn't going to waste his time with insignificant people such as us."

She licked her full lips and Sasuke looked to her, stopping at a light. Hinata looked to him and they locked eyes as she nodded along to the phone.

She hung up with a sigh and closed her eyes, breaking connection. "He wants us in his office, effective immediately. Meaning we've got twenty minutes before he arrives."

"Shit." Sasuke pressed down on the acceleration pedal and shifted gears, driving fast. "This fucking sucks."

She dropped her phone back into her tote. "Don't I know it?"

-

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Hiashi's voice boomed through the twenty-second floor conference room.

Hinata cringed as Fuguka dropped his head in his hands; Neji and Itachi looked at the pair of them suspiciously. They had ever right to believe this since they walked in the door soaking wet. That's why Sasuke hadn't bothered to sit in the black cushioned leather swivel chair, like Hinata had.

She tucked a strand of drenched blue hair behind her ear. "He doesn't want to do business with us."

"What about the future?" Hiashi sighed, rubbing his clean-shaven chin.

"Not in the near or the far off," Sasuke grunted, tapping his pack of cigarettes against the leg of his black slacks. "Not ever, if you didn't get that."

"We understood that, Sasuke," Fuguka glared at him. "What I want to know is what the fuck you were doing so that he didn't sign the damn thing."

Hinata locked eyes with him. "Please keep quiet, Fuguka. We haven't done a damn thing so do not ask why the hell he wouldn't sign the damn thing. Do you think I'd be here if I knew the fucking answer?!"

The room grew quiet as Hinata dropped her ringing head into her trembling hand. "What the fuck do I do now, huh?! You don't have to fucking worry about this, so shut the fuck up, alright?! I have to deal with a contract that's been rejected, the humiliation and the embarrassment! Not you two! You just sit up here and sign papers with pretty pens! I have to _do_ shit to _make_ shit work!"

She locked eyes with Itachi and slapped the contract in front of him and Neji. "I want the two of you to fix a motherfucking memo for the next week. We are focusing on the terms for Canada and Russia. Then we take this bitch to the states and no one is to be useless, got it?"

They nodded and she turned to Sasuke, determination on her face. "We have lots to discuss, Uchiha. Either we agree soon or we just shut the fuck up."

He smirked and nodded before she turned to their fathers, hands on her hips. "If you have any objections, then meeting adjourned."

Hiashi locked eyes with her, his voice level. "If you mess this up, you can forget hitting president."

"COO is just fine with me, father. Now, leave. I have too much to discuss with Sasuke."

They filed from the room and Hinata tugged her belt off, surprising Sasuke. She dropped it on the floor and kicked her shoes.

"Okay then," Sasuke said, slipping his jacket off and dropping it on the floor. "If you're ready, then I am."

"Good," Hinata smiled. She cracked her fingers for the second time in her life and pulled a chair up beside him. "Let's get this started. We've got ten-odd hours before we're officially back to work. Let's see what we can do."

* * *

Damn you Hitachi Kin! You're going down! You are dead to me! D2M! DDDDD2222MMMMM! XDDDD

R&R Please and Thank You! XDDD


	7. Fat, Balding Men on the Tele

Hiashi and Fuguka blinked, walking into the twenty-second floor conference room. Hinata and Sasuke were in each other's faces, pointing to her laptop and yelling about the latest development. Hiashi grunted and they both glanced up, facing them. Hinata smoothed down her pearly lavender sleeveless blouse, cloud gray pencil skirt and lavender satin Gucci slides, glaring at Sasuke.

"Hello father, Fuguka. We were just discussing something."

"Yes, we can see that," Fuguka muttered, sinking into his cushy chair. "But has this discussion lead to anything?"

"At two-thirty in the morning, it was great," Sasuke paced the room in a faded blue button-down shirt and khaki dress pants. "But now it's ten-fifteen and all we've got that we haven't erased is _the_."

Hiashi's jaw clenched and Hinata had to stop herself from laughing aloud. It was actually kind of funny because what had caused them to lose everything was her closing the laptop without saving. That's what they were fighting about in the first place.

"Do you think this is funny?" Fuguka snapped and she cringed back, her hand flying to the gold charm bracelet (from Tiffany's. It even came in the little blue box she adored) around her wrist. He gestured towards the beautiful day outside their bay window. "Hinata, this is nothing to laugh at! We've lost a valuable alliance ! There is nothing laughable in that!"

She lowered her eyes to the floor, both Sasuke and her rigid. "I know that sir, but-,"

"But nothing!" Hiashi hissed, running a hand through his long ebony hair. "What the fuck are we supposed to do now, huh?! If you're so ashamed, then why aren't you doing anything to fix it?! Do you know what your damn mistake has cost us? What if there are others who found out about this and now want to quit their alliances with us? What then?"

"Hiashi," Sasuke inquired, causing the room to look at him. "It wasn't her fault. Hitachi had been apposed to the idea long before his father died. It wasn't as if we weren't expecting him not to sign. It's just a tremendous shock to the system. I assure you, none of the alliances we've made are being looked upon. We are in the clear."

Hiashi eyed him as Fuguka sighed, gazing out the window. "And how do you know this?"

"Hinata looked into the matter long before you asked about it."

Hinata felt the heat rise to her ivory cheeks as both presidents looked to her. Hiashi sighed placing his hands flat on the table, tension dripping off his body and into the air like a thick oily film.

"If you fuck this up, I will personally see that neither of you are able to raise your heads in the streets of Tokyo, understood?"

Hinata's eyes widened and she nodded quickly and Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned back to the laptop. Fuguka's eye twitched as his son ignored their threat before both of the men left the two of them. The frosted glass doors closed and Hinata place a hand on her chest, taking deep breaths as she walked towards the window.

"Quit hyperventilating, nerd," Sasuke muttered, his fingers dancing across the keys of the keyboard. "I've just thought of something."

"Uchiha, I swear, if you mess this up," Hinata stomped over to him, the silk lavender scarf around her slender neck fluttering.

"Shut up," he snapped, glaring at her. "For once, can you just let me handle this? It's all so very simple and you make it like I'm the one going to mess everything up. Have you ever thought it was you?"

"Take that back! I've done everything in my power to make sure this company's reputation was not ruined by last night's-,"

"Miss Hyuga! Mr. Uchiha!" Ayame and Yuki burst through the door, tea and coffee cakes sitting on a tray Ayame was pushing.

"What?" both snapped, looking to the two of them, Sasuke sitting and Hinata standing above him, a fist on her hip.

"On the news!" Yuki said, grabbing the remote and pressing her thumbnail into a button. The large screen in the room clicked on and she flipped to the appropriate channel. Hitachi and Kandi were on screen, looking very professional as Hitachi shook hands with the president of a rival company of them.

"Motherfucker!" Sasuke said, his grip tightening around his coffee mug.

Hinata let out an anguished cry and dropped her head in her hands, her shoulders heaving as she took deep breathes. "This can not be happening! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Make sure Hiashi doesn't see this! We are so fucked! So fucked! I need a brown paper baggie!"

"Shut up!" Sasuke snapped, pinching the bridge of his perfectly straight nose.

"How dare you!" Hinata screeched at him, causing everyone to look at her as she stood and began pacing the room. "What the fuck are we going to do now Uchiha?! What now! We're truly fucked! Hiashi is going to fire us on the spot! We lost to him!" She pointed a buffed nail at the paused picture, hysteria dawning on her. "A fat, balding man with no idea of how much damn power he fucking has! What the _fuck_ do we do _now_?!"

Sasuke grabbed her by the shoulders, locking eyes with her. "Breathe, Hinata. We're okay. There are more chances. We're okay. Chances are that man will fuck everything up and that power will be useless. With our luck, we can probably find a person second most powerful and still do something."

Hinata nodded and he let go of her shoulders, looking to their assistants. "Why don't you tell Hiashi and Fuguka we're leaving early? I think Hinata needs a day off. A week probably but let's just take baby steps."

"What?!" Hinata shook her head vigorously, confusing the girls even further. "We do not have the luxury of a day off, Uchiha! We don't have a luxury anymore! Hiashi and Fuguka are going to chew our asses, spit them out and then stomp on them when they find out what the rotten bastard did!"

Sasuke grabbed their coats and slipped an arm around her tiny waist. "That's why we're leaving now." He slipped a pair of aviators over his onyx eyes looking to the girls. "Tell them we'll be gone for the rest of the day."

"Yes sir," Yuki bowed and Ayame began to clean up the tea things. Sasuke whisked a complaining Hinata outside and into the spring humidity, which was slowly letting up to summer hotness.

"Sasuke," Hinata griped, even though the cool air of the A/C was refreshing. "We cannot walk out on this."

"Watch me," he grunted, shifting gears and driving out of the lot faster than necessary.

"Seriously, Sasuke," Hinata sighed. "Take us back right now. We can't run away in the mist of things! Not now!"

"We're not running away," he said, looking straight ahead. "We can't do anything about it now. You were acting over dramatic. There is nothing wrong with getting our contract rejected. Yes, I am pretty pissed about what the dumbass did, but we've got backup. So relax and calm down."

Hinata blinked, before sighing and tugging the elastic from her ponytail, letting the soft blue curls spill down around her slender shoulders. "Fine. Where are we going first?"

"Just what I want to hear," he smirked. "How about I treat you to brunch and all that and we enjoy ourselves."

"A date is what you're explaining."

"Then consider yourself fortunate."

She eyed him. "What do you mean?"

"You're sitting in a new model car by _Mazda_, with the most eligible bachelor in Japan." He shook his head, shifting gears. "Women would kill just to know me, just to be in your seat."

"You conceited jerk!"

"I love you too."

-

_The Next Day . . ._

Hinata and Sasuke sat across from Fuguka and Hiashi, the room immersed in silence. No one was speaking because there was nothing to say about their new development. It was all too much for them to get excited over.

Finally, Hiashi took a deep breath and dropped the contract on the table. "Are you lying?"

Hinata shook her head. "No, Hiashi." She tapped a buffed nail on the folder, smiling brightly. "Not two hours after Ari Inc. took up Mr. Hitachi's offer, than this company decided to up them and wanted a piece of us."

Fuguka shook his head slowly, looking out the window to the darkening evening sky. "Galore Corp. huh? I can't believe our luck."

Sasuke smirked. "The company to rival Ari's power. They've got access to things we've never even thought of. If we take this offer, we're not only golden, we're solid golden."

Hinata shifted in her seat, tucking her ankle behind her leg. "So, what do you think? Because we believe this is our chance."

Hiashi ran a hand through his hair and looked to Fuguka. Fuguka shook his head and pulled the file towards him, reading over the contents again. After a few minutes of hushed talking, both men came to agreement.

"Give me a pen," Fuguka motioned for Itachi who was standing with Neji in the corner. "You could learn something from all of this."

Hinata felt pride swell in her chest as Itachi and Neji read over Hiashi and Fuguka's shoulders, clearly impressed by their turnabout.

"See," Sasuke leaned over to her. "I told you everything was going to be alright. You were just being over dramatic."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, I admit, I was acting a little immature, but you can understand why."

"No I can't. Because you were making it hard for me to even think with all your "oh my god" and "what the fuck do we do now", which was quite funny, let me tell you."

She shot him a glare and he smirked, leaning back in his chair. Either way, both were happy and neither one of them was going to be fired from their job. Neither could go into extremely early retirement just yet.

* * *

They probably could, but . . .

R&R Please and Thank You X3


	8. Sex on the 22nd Floor Conference Table

"No."

Hinata felt her eyebrow twitch as Sasuke dropped the packet right back on the table. There was no one present in the twenty-second floor conference room, which seemed to be in favor for the last two months, every since she and Sasuke began working together. Like tonight, for example, when Hinata and Sasuke were working on the contract for Russia. But she should have known Sasuke would say no . . . again.

"Why?" she said around her gritted teeth, her fingers laced. It was ten-fifteen at night and she had to get up and go to work tomorrow. Sasuke was being himself like usual and saying no to every little thing she tried. It was getting seriously annoying.

"Because Hyuga, it's obvious you want to gain their trust and have their power." He said this like it was the most obvious thing ever.

Hinata tapped her black Fendi three-and-half-inch mule on the floor, dressed in a tight black V-neck dress that barely grazed her creamy thighs and her blue hair swept up in a bun. If she had been wearing glasses, she would have looked like a sexy office woman instead of a sexy woman ready to go out somewhere. And unfortunately, Sasuke couldn't stop staring at her legs . . .

Whenever he got bored with her talking, which wasn't very often, he'd always find his eyes straying towards her legs. And he was sure that on more than one occasion, Neji caught him. It was almost daunting how Neji could always be found glaring across to him whenever he dragged his eyes across the table. Almost though.

" . . . Uchiha!" Hinata snapped and Sasuke blinked, his onyx eyes instantly snapping up to her. Shit. He hadn't heard a damn thing she had said. Maybe he could just wing it . . .

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "And you're not arguing back?"

Stall damnit! Stall!

"That's not it Hyuga," he answered nonchalantly. Shit, where the fuck could he go with this? Where the hell was this going? In his thought process, his eyes went right to her legs for inspiration. Yeah, like a pair of sexy, creamy, delicious looking thighs was going to help him . . . Ah hell.

Swiveling slightly, he hoped to God she wouldn't notice. But Hinata stopped the chair with her foot, her leg stretched out in front of him. Her lavender orbs were narrowed and he swore to God if she whipped out a pair of glasses, she would look like the damn young adult librarian he had sex with about a two weeks ago. But that was a story for later and . . . damnit! He was trapped in a situation he _desperately_ needed to get out of.

"Uchiha, it's rude not to answer me. And it's even ruder to prompt an argument 'just for the hell of it'." She even made quotation marks in the air as she spoke. Hiashi obviously taught her how to argue because damn it to hell, she was good at it.

"What I say, Hyuga," he fired back, shifting and crossing his legs, hoping to God he could pull it off, "is true. They would never go for this. They don't need your alliance, or that's what they believe. You have to get them to believe that they need you, that our power will not only make them stronger, but they are a getting a hell of a lot out of it."

Oh God, please let this work. Silence. Then . . .

Hinata nodded slowly, reasoning with him, which was incredibly surprising. "True, true. I see your point. My mistake Uchiha. I'm afraid I underestimated you." She stood to reach for the file and Sasuke couldn't help himself. Instantly, he slid the file back, making her fingers tips just a few millimeters short of their goal.

A smirk crossed his lips as she frowned, shooting him a glare. "Oh, you want this?" He held up the file, smirking playfully. "Oh, you don't want this. I'm sure you want to something else."

She held out her hand, the charm bracelet glinting in the florescent lighting. "Give it to me Uchiha!"

"Whoa!" Neji said, both snapping their head towards the doorway. He backed away slowly, having burst through the door. "I'm just . . . just gonna go now. I was going to ask if you needed a ride Hinata-sama, but I can see you're uh, busy. My mistake. See you tomorrow."

"Mmm, goodnight, Neji-niisan."

"Yeah," he mumbled, shuffling out the room, flipping open his ringing Motorola -Special Edition- Black Razr V3. "Good night Hinata-sama, Uchiha-san."

"Night, Hyuga."

The door closed and Hinata glared at Sasuke. "Give me the file now, Uchiha." She reached for it and in about two seconds, she was practically wrestling him for it. Sasuke, on one hand was enjoying himself, holding the file out of her reach. It was almost like teasing a child.

Then something happened.

Hinata dropped into his lap and pushed against him, stretching for the file. Sasuke was stunned, but not stunned enough to drop the file away from her reach and dump it on the floor. In a matter of minutes, he had her in a lip lock and he didn't know if their tongues were in a war for dominance or if this was how heated arguments could turn into passionate sex.

Hinata delved into his mouth, her fingers fumbling with the buttons on his shirt. Then realization dawned on her. This was her _co-worker_. The man that she was arguing with _non-stop_ over _silly_ things! The man she went out for drinks with! The man who had to also deal with the humiliation of a contract rejected! This man was the boss of the Uchiha part of Hyuga & Uchiha Co.

She pushed away and he blinked, before his cheeks flared up in embarrassment. Neither could have taken what happened into consideration and for the next minute or so, avoided each others eyes. But neither one moved. Hinata's legs wrapped around his waist didn't move, his hands didn't move from their spot planted beside her, they didn't even alter the closeness of their bodies. Somehow, they were stuck with what _to_ do and what _not_ to do.

Finally, Hinata sighed, her fingers reaching for his belt buckle. Fuck all those damn company rules. She was actually _enjoying_ herself. And if Hiashi's nuisance of rules were going to get in her way of enjoyment, she wasn't going to think _twice_ about crossing them.

She smirked at him as his onyx eyes widened, looking to her. "I'm not going to wait for you, Uchiha. If we're going to start something, I suggest we finish it."

No answer because in a matter of milliseconds, he had captured her lips again, hardening the kiss. How crazy was it that he was about to do his president's daughter? The one that he was constantly bickering about over contracts, documents, memos even! The one who was constantly stubborn about what went where and when things happened!

He slid his hand up her thigh and groped her firm butt, sliding the tiny thing of a dress up to reveal a pair of lacy black ultra low-rise panties. His fingers looped around the material and her hands roamed over his now bare chest, the shirt open to reveal his sculpted body. They were going to need something more comfortable though. And both knew it.

Sasuke kissed along her neck, taking pleasure from her sweet sighs. Hinata gasped as his hand slid up her thigh, up her dress, nearly slipping it over her head. But a bed was needed, a bed, a bed . . .

"Sasuke," she moaned, earning his attention. "Whose place is closer?"

He looked to her, his hair mused from her fisting. "I think it's yours."

"How long?" she checked her wrist and sighed. No wrist watch today.

He reached for his coat, buttoning his shirt one-handed. "About twenty minutes. You never knew that Hyuga?"

She watched his smirk, following after it with her own. "I don't count how long I take to get to work. I just like to get their fast."

"Right, right."

-

Hinata moaned into Sasuke's mouth, his fingers slipping over her curves and left her craving for more. She roamed over his sculpted abs, toned chest and wondered how many hours did it take to get a body this gorgeous? A moan bubbled from her throat as he played with the strap of her black lacy bra, suckling the skin just above her right shoulder.

Her fingers wrapped around the hem of his pants, gently tugging them. She wanted so much more than just kisses and soft touches, even though they were nice. Slowly, she removed the belt and heard the deep rumble of a chuckle in his chest. She was getting tired of his little games.

In a quick movement, he had her pinned to the wall, instead of on the couch of her comfortable living room. He ground his hips into her, listening to her quickened breathing and sighs as she wrapped her legs around him. He moved his mouth from her neck back to her mouth, indulging in the exotic taste.

The dress came off and Sasuke carried her upstairs, still kissing her. Somehow, without fault or accident, he gently deposited her on the bed, his lips moving from her neck to her collar bone. He nibbled on the soft skin of her neck, nudging her legs open. Instantly, he slipped off her underwear, his teeth latching on to her nipple.

A moan of pleasure escaped her lips and she arched her back as he thrust into her. She pushed her hips upward, her cries getting louder and breathier with every thrust. She wanted this. She absolutely wanted this. She wanted more of this. She wanted him all to _herself_.

Her nails scratched lightly along his back as she screamed for more, his fingers entangling in her hair. She was begging for more of him, she wanted him to go harder, make her come faster. It was tiresome wanting to go slow and steady. She wanted to make love, not wait for the moon to light their way damnit.

Wave after wave after wave of pleasure washed over her and she cried out again, arching her back greatly. He was pushing her towards to the edge of complete ecstasy and she _loved_ it.

He loved the sound of her screams, her cries of pleasure. It was deliciously addicting, and only made him go faster. He found out very quickly that the faster he went, the louder her screams got. And the louder her screams got, the faster he went.

She gave one last cry of pleasure as her orgasm hit her, her legs tightening around his waist. He lowered himself and rolled, pulling her along so that her head rested on his chest. Their sweat and juices mingled on the bed, their breath hot and heavy.

He closed his eyes and wondered why he had never noticed her before.

She closed her eyes and wondered when they could do it again.

Both knew Hiashi and Fuguka couldn't know about this.

* * *

. . . .

o.O Did I write this? I am only 13! Did I write this?

Anyways, thanks to the one-shot Pent Up Emotions. Hot damn . . . That's probably how I was able to write this scene^^

The rating has officially hit M! My first M-rated fanfic! w00t!

R&R Please! Tell me what you think of my first **_sex scene_**! (You can tell, I'm very proud of myself XDD X3)


	9. Delicious Kisses and Answers Unanswered

A month.

One sweet, delicious month had passed. Hinata smiled, gliding across the carpeted corridors of her office building. For one month, she and Sasuke continuously played a game of Forbidden Affairs, and she was anticipating their next meeting. And even though she knew she was being a little lustful after Sasuke, she couldn't help it. For some reason, she felt it was right to go home and have sex with him almost every other day.

Turning her head slightly, she caught her reflection in the Plexiglas pane of a window. Thankfully, the hall was empty and the binds were shut, so she was free to examine herself.

At first it was the usual; pick at her white button-down blouse with three-quarter length sleeves, then smooth down her black tiered peasant skirt and tighten her super-slick low ponytail, her bangs swept to the side. Then she really took a look and felt a little disgusted.

She was turning their game of sex into an obsession.

Abruptly, she turned away from the window and rushed down the hallways. In the last month, they had gone places like museums, restaurants and even a few movies. But every time they came home (to her three-bedroom two-and-a-half bathroom townhouse) they had sex.

And even in the office, they had sex. Multiple times in the _conference_ _room_. Multiple times in her _office_. Multiple times _after_ hours. Multiple times _during_ hours. Multiple times in _his_ office, just to spice things up.

Sometimes, depending on the mood, it would be a just a 'quickie'. Or they'd take their time, enjoy the sensation of being close and pleasuring the other. Or they'd do a long hard fuck.

Hinata threw open the door to her office and kicked it shut, making sure everyone knew she wasn't in a mood. She felt like a slut. It was common knowledge that Sasuke was a playboy with an Energizer battery in his penis. It wasn't like she didn't know he had slept with more woman than she had successfully gotten contracts signed.

But did they actually love each other?

Hinata dropped onto the couch and felt herself unraveling. After a month of just sex, sex, and more sex, she thought they actually had something. But really, it was nothing. Just lust. Was there any love involved? If you loved someone, you had sex with them, right? Or that's what she liked to believe. Maybe she was mistaking lust for love.

Closing her lavender eyes, she let her mind wander. What if Sasuke didn't love her? What if he just wanted to get in her pants? She didn't think of herself as someone who was good in bed, but what if she was? What if he just wanted to fuck the company's daughter, ruin her good reputation?

Her chest clenched and she sat up, hearing the door open. Her eyes locked with Sasuke's onyx and she felt the heat rising to her cheeks. She couldn't keep doing this. She needed answers, answers to the many questions circling her confused, befuddled mind.

"You okay?" Sasuke leaned against the semi-circle couch, crossing his arms and watching her indifferently.

"I'm fine," she mumbled, looking to her lap. Uneasily, she rubbed her thighs, pressing her creamy knees together. What if what she was thinking was true? What if he lied? What if he didn't mean what he said? How did she know he wasn't lying?

So many questions, so little time.

Self-consciously, she reached down and tightened the strap on her black strappy Fendi sandals. "I-I have a q-question, Sasuke."

"Oh yeah?" he mumbled around his cigarette, eyes focused on the windows that covered her whole back wall.

She glanced up at him and prepared herself. If he was lying, she'd dump him. There would be tension, yes, but that was to be expected. They'd get over it for the sake of the company. She couldn't sit here and wonder and wonder if what they had was actually something to be desired. She didn't think there was one woman alive who was content just to have sex . . . in private. (A/N Get it? In private? XD I just realized that!)

Her eyes landed on her lap. "Do you . . . Do you . . .?"

He looked at her as she trailed off. "Do I what?"

Nervously, she brought her glassy eyes up to his. "Do you love me?"

He blinked, having barely heard what she had just said. Loved her? Of course he did . . . Wait, did he?

His eyes left contact with hers as he sighed. Almost instantly, he could hear her strangled sob and he looked to find her head buried in her hands. And he hadn't even said anything! Hell, he wasn't even sure if they could call this love. Having sex day after day after day was getting a little boring for him. But there was nothing else they could do.

"Hinata," he sighed, brushing away her tears with a tissue. "Don't cry. You'll ruin your make up."

She sniffled and took the tissue, turning away from him. "So you don't love me. All this sex is just lust." Her lavender eyes closed as he blinked behind her. "I don't think I can keep going like this if it's only for sex."

"What are you saying?"

Her lip trembled as she stood up and faced him. "We're through, over with. I can't be in this relationship if we do nothing but have sex. I want something more than just you between my legs."

He kept silent as she wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. "I believed I was content with out little game. It was enthralling to have Hiashi and Fuguka not know about this one thing. Our dirty, nasty, little secret. But it's not going to work out. I hate having to hide in the dark. Not even our friends know about us, Sasuke! What kind of relationship is that?"

He sighed, standing from the couch. She was right, of course. He wasn't treating her fairly. He was just using her as an instrument in his little world. And of course, she had realized this way before he had. So he decided to do the right thing for once. Because he realized something.

He did love her. And he hated the thought of losing her. The minute the words "we're over" left her glossed mouth, his heart actually skipped a even thought it was pathetic and cliché, he actually did like her. Like her hard enough to know he wasn't going to throw it away because she wanted to come out and let everyone know their plans, their business.

"Hinata," he began and she stepped back, to get out of range of any embrace. He sighed and placed his hands at his side. "I love you. And I'm sorry you had to go through all this."

Her eyes widened and he shoved his hands into the pockets of his charcoal gray pin-stripe Hermes suit. "I understand if you don't want to be with me anymore. I'd hate having to hide in the dark all the time too. Sadly, I never realized this."

He skirted around her and didn't look back. "We have a board meeting in about thirty minutes. You should get cleaned up."

The door closed and Hinata dropped to her knees, loud sobs erupting from her throat. This wasn't happening. But it was, and he had said it. The words she desperately wanted to hear. And even though she had just realized this forty-five minutes ago, she didn't want him to say goodbye.

But he had.

And now she was alone.

And there was no one else for her to talk to.

* * *

Oh. Magod. I'm a bitch. What did I do to poor Hinata-chan?! What is my issue!? Hurry Eyor! Get everyone a tissue! XD

Yep! I dun did it! Updated with a twist! You weren't expecting that little flaw, were ya? Nope! This done turned seriously un-Humorous. I'll have to change that . . .

Anyways, did you enjoy? Think I need to work on some things? If so, you know what to do!^^ Keep 'em coming and I'll get's more for ya!


	10. Two Words Worst Than We need to talk

A mutual understanding.

Hinata hated the very words. They meant she couldn't call back on her words. They meant she was saying goodbye forever. They meant no more passionate sex at the office, after hours, during hours or at her house. They meant she was to address him as "Uchiha-san" or to keep what they used to have "Sasuke". No "kun", no "Sasu-chan", no nothing. Just "Uchiha" or "Sasuke."

She dropped her head on her desk, the pen falling from her hand. Everything had become so . . . _boring_. Everything was going according to plan. Russia and Canada had signed; America was still mulling it over but was definitely in their immediate favor. Nothing needed to be done. Memos were basically the same. Every meeting had everyone leaving with a smiling face and hopes of bigger raises.

Everyone except for her.

Without Sasuke, she had no one to go home with, no one to wake up with, no one at all. She had liked the way things were, even if it was just sex. At least they had sex. She knew Neji was practically salivating for TenTen, but he wouldn't do it because he was either

A. was too chicken

B. TenTen was prolonging it

C. was waiting for the right time

A sigh escaped her poppy-red-glossed lips before she sat up. In a black sleeveless top and gray pencil skirt, she looked the same. It wasn't as if she had changed any, not even when they were . . . Hell, she didn't even know what to call it. Maybe the word would be an affair. Maybe it would be called nothing but a desire; lust.

How could she be so stupid?! Asking him what he thought! Of course he didn't love her! Its just sex! He did it all the time! With any woman he desired! She wasn't the only sex-crazed woman out there! There were probably tens of thousands of women much more advanced than she!

But, for a moment, she had actually believed . . .

Abruptly, she turned her thoughts off. There was no need to muse it over. What was done was done. She may regret it for the rest of her life, but she'd get over it. Sasuke was nothing but old history. Stuff she didn't need to get into now or possibly even later. Close the door and throw away the key.

"Hyuga," Sasuke walked through the door with the ease of a man who had everything going for him. And he did, but what about her? What about what they had? Didn't that mean anything? Anything at all? Or maybe . . .

It was just a game for him.

"Ano, Uchiha-san?" Hinata cocked her head, swiveling her chair to the right. She didn't want to face him head on, not when her heart was shattering all over again, not when her mind was replaying what happened in the last two weeks. The no contact, the no direct-eyeing, the no obvious-flirting. The no sex.

Her heart skipped a bet and she turned to the document on her computer screen. She wanted to jump him, fuck him mercilessly, but that wasn't going to be happening anytime soon. She had a duty to this company and now, she was back to her late nights and home made dinners. There was no going home with Sasuke, or possibly doing it here. It was all copiers, papers and crudy, over-protective Managers.

"Are you listening?" he snapped and she grimaced. He never used to snap at her when they were together. He just sighed impatiently and waited as she regained whatever sense she had lost. But now, it was just like before. Fights didn't turn into exceedingly delicious kisses, glances weren't telling of how long they hated to wait, and sighs were definitly not coming from pleasure.

"I-I'm sorry," she mumbled, turning back to him. "What is you were saying?"

"I said, do you want to send a rep to the states or should we go?"

_GO! TELL HIM YOU WANT TO GO! TELL HIM NOW!_

"We'll send somebody," she answered, fighting back her brutal mind. She saw him for nine and half hours already, another thirty-six was going to make her crack and rape him.

"Okay," he said, eyeing her curiously. "Do you have anyone in mind?"

"You," she said, turning back to the computer. "I can stay here and take care of things while you go."

"Alright, I'll have Yuki book me a flight. Good day, Hyuga."

She swallowed back tears as she stared at the screen. "Goodbye, Uchiha."

-

"No." Fuguka glared across the table to Hinata and Sasuke. "If one goes, then both go. This is our company in the first place; we can handle it just fine."

Hinata nibbled her lip, two parts of her cheering and one part of her howling for another vote. Sasuke seemed unfazed, and it was obvious he wasn't apposed the idea. It was certainly going against the idea of the "mutual understanding". They weren't supposed to have contact outside of work. They weren't friends, because let's face it; relationships can never turn into friendships.

"M-maybe it would be for the best?" Hinata inquired weakly. "I think it would be more productive if we had just one go. One of us could stay behind to make sure nothing goes amiss and the other can-,"

"Hinata," Hiashi snapped, interrupting her. "Do you believe I am incapable of running my own company?"

"N-no sir," she mumbled, her eyes landing on the table. "I just believe that to make this company work, we need everyone and-,"

"Spare us, princess," Fuguka glared from her to Sasuke. "If you two have some kind of issue, I suggest you fix it. Now. Both of you are getting on a private plane straight to the states. In a week. Whether you like it or not."

Sasuke leaned back in his chair, seemingly unaware of all that was around him. Hinata felt her eyes fill with tears of anguish. For after this week, she'd be gone for a whole week, away from Shino and Kiba. Away from the two most comforting people in the world. Away from the one place where she could cry her eyes out and no one but the three of them knew, while she was the only one who knew why.

"You are dismissed," Hiashi said and Hinata stood abruptly, rushing out of the room. While the others were confused about her sudden leaving, there was only one who actually knew why she was running.

Unfortunately, he felt like running too.

-

"Way to go, Hina-chan!" Kiba grinned as he swept her up in a bear hug. "We're proud of our little COO!"

Hinata pushed away from him and dropped into the red leather booth, her eyes focused on the gleaming cherry wood table. "Thank you for the victory dinner. Though, we've done nothing to earn it."

"Yes you have." Shino gave her a warm smile. "Russia and Canada rarely agree to anything outside their states. You've managed to get tens of millions into your company's treasury, and you're going to America for a week. I don't see what has you so down."

_The one man that I actually love_, Hinata thought, but said, "Sasuke is going as well and we just don't get along."

"What?" Kiba looked over his menu at her. "Even after three and half months? Seriously, Hina!"

Hinata's eyes widened. Three months and half, seriously? Only that long since she met Sasuke? It felt like years, ages even. And she never noticed, not even when she was marking her calendar. Hell, when was the last time she even looked at a calendar?

She nibbled her glossed lip as the waiter approached. She wanted to desperately back out, rewind time and say how much she wanted to get out of this. She couldn't handle not seeing him every night, every hour after work. She couldn't handle seeing him during the day, at work. She just couldn't be content.

On one hand, she wanted to be with him. Watch the sun go down from her porch, looking over the bay. Another part of her wanted to forget him, forget what they ever had, and forget what she ever wanted. And they were clashing. She wanted him so badly. She so desperately wanted to get rid of him.

A warm hand rubbed her back soothingly and she turned to face a concerned Shino. "Are you okay, Hinata?"

She nodded and smiled warmly at the waiter, who looked a bit confused. "I'm just fine. A cheeseburger will suit me just fine. With a beer, if you have it."

He nodded and scribbled it down before scurrying off.

Kiba gave her a wide grin. "So you're finally shedding your fake little shell! Good job Hina! I wanna see that burger gone by the end of tonight!"

She smiled, sliding off her silver letter jacket. "Yes, Kiba-kun. I believe I deserve a little temptation tonight. Just for tonight though."

_Just for tonight though . . ._

I have nothing to say. Because that end was just too perfect.

* * *


	11. Horny Stewardess and Bitchy Comments

Sasuke checked his watch for what must have been the fourth time already and sighed. The chauffer coughed softly into his gloved hand and Sasuke slipped his pair of gold aviators onto the top of his head. One more minute in this glowering humidity and Sasuke was going to personally drag the woman out by her long, buffed fingernails.

Hinata _still_ wasn't out.

_Wow_, he thought, pinching the bridge of his nose. _When did I get to be so brutal?_

"I-I'm sorry!" Hinata burst through the front door of her, dragging a brown-and-gold Louis Vuitton suitcase down the steps of her brownstone townhouse. Her dark distressed miniskirt showed off her creamy legs while a white peasant style tank top showed off a nice amount of cleavage. Her flat black sandals clicked against the hot concrete.

The chauffer rushed over and took her suitcase, popping the trunk as Sasuke leaned against the silver Range Rover, popping a cigarette between his lips. "It's so nice of you to join us, Hyuga."

Hinata's cheeks flushed from heat and embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry. I w-woke up late and d-didn't know w-what to pack first."

"I hope you remember this is a business trip, _princess_," he said, spinning on the heel of his expensive shoes and opening the door to the back seat. "I expect better of you, Hyuga."

Hinata slipped a pair of Vogue oversized shades of her lavender orbs, crossing her arms smoothly, kicking into business-bitch mode. "As of you, Uchiha. If you believe you're so '_smooth'_," she even did the air quotes he found so very amusing, "then you understand that you can wait for a lady."

He said nothing after that, letting her waltz past her to slide into the backseat, away from him. The rift between them widened but he gave no clue to this, no matter how much he wanted to roll up the black tinted square that allowed privacy and fuck her right then and there.

"Put that out," Hinata made a point of not looking at him as she read over the files again. "The smell sticks to everything and it's disgusting."

"Geez, what crawled up your ass?" he mumbled, snubbing the cigarette out in the provided ash tray. The poor chauffer up front ducked his head, feeling the instant coldness radiating off of Hinata as she slowly lowered the file back to her lap. Something was going to happen.

"Uchiha-san," she said slowly, thinning her lips and looking away, out the window, almost as if she didn't want to do it, "I've had enough of you. If you're going to insult me over your damn cigarettes, then I suggest you get out and walk along side the car."

Sasuke blinked behind his aviators and turned his head away sharply, allowing the humid air from the window to dance with the cool air of the car's A/C. Obviously, this was going to be a long trip, whether they liked it or not.

"U-um," the chauffer, intervened but instantly clammed up as they both look over their glasses at him, feigning interest in whatever he said to escape their own thoughts. "N-never mind."

-

Hinata pressed her lips together and slid out of the car, looking up at the giant white contraption taking her on a seven hour flight to America. A churning happened in her stomach and it wasn't from seeing such a colossal thing. It was from the man standing beside her, dressed in a loose button-down, the sleeves rolled up and the top two buttons undone with light wash Capezio jeans and his expensive shoes.

She yearned to rip off every single one of those articles.

But refrained from doing so.

"You okay, Hyuga?" Sasuke cocked his head towards her in a show of concern, shoving his hands in the deep recesses of his pockets.

Hinata played with the gold charm bracelet, almost smiling at the humor of the gold cell phone and airplane she had added on. It was cute and sweet, a gift from Shino and Kiba on her trip to America. But nothing was going to help her on this week-long trip away from home and close to Sasuke.

"I'm fine," she sighed, dropping her arms and watching as they loaded the last of what was needed onto the private jet. "Just nervous is all."

"You shouldn't be," he said, lighting a cigarette casually, "You had no trouble in telling me to fuck off. Why should you be nervous about convincing them to sign a paper?"

"Telling you off and convincing actual important people are two different things, Uchiha."

"Oh, so I'm not as important as those old men in suits, am I?"

"No, you're not," she snapped back, eyes flashing angry. "Because they do a hell of a lot more than you ever will." With that last word, she turned and marched up the stairs, leaving a very shocked Sasuke to his own devices.

The minute she disappeared up through the door way, he violently shoved his hands into his pockets and kicked the tire of the Range Rover. Every time he said one thing, she always found someway to make it backfire on him. Always.

"Um, sir?" the young chauffer nervously chewed his lip, mumbling weakly, "Please don't kick the car . . . sir."

Sasuke grunted, reaching into his back pocket. Pulling out a money clip, he eased ten-thousand yen (**A/N** that's what, $100? If not, let me know and I can fix it) out and tucked into the boy's hat, walking away haughtily. Some days, he just wished things would go _his_ way for once.

"It's about time," Hinata said, walking out of the back, her glasses still on. "I would have told them to leave without you, another minute or so."

"Gee, thanks," he shot back, "I'm so glad you're willing to care for me."

"Whatever Uchiha. Just sit so that I can go and do my job."

He crashed down into the white leather seat that lined the side of the red velvet walls across the aisle from Hinata's side and set up his laptop. A heavy, mocking silence settled on the two but neither was willing to speak first. They'd be damned it they were going to buckle on under the other's crappy attitude towards them.

-

The flight attendant was doing this on purpose.

Sasuke knew.

And how did he know?

Whenever she bent down to pick something up or fix something, she'd always be looking to him to see if he was watching. Sadly, he wasn't in the mood for turning the music up loud and making the girl scream his name. Besides, Hinata was glaring at her enough to set her on fire.

"If you don't mind," Hinata spat, glowering at the girl, "I would like to get on with my work. No matter how _pleasant_ your little _striptease_ is, I suggest you move your _scrawny_ _ass_ and let us do our work."

The poor girl's cheeks turned a bright red and she quickly snapped up, scurrying towards the back to complain to her two similar friends. Hinata mumbled under her breath, tapping away viciously at her Sony notebook, her lavender eyes reflecting the glow of golden light coming from the wall mounted lamps in the plane.

"Geez," Sasuke muttered, playing with an unlit cigarette between his knuckles, "talk about a '_bad day_'."

"Talk about a sex-starved man," Hinata shot back, not even gracing him with an infamous Hyuga glare.

"Hey!" Sasuke scowled. "I don't call you a cocksucker, do I?"

"You . . . Argh!" Hinata quickly stood up and Sasuke realized he had hit the wrong button. She snippily snatched up her notebook and marched towards the other end, where the bedrooms were. Sasuke grunted, crossing his arms just as snippily as she.

She was the one that started it, and if she couldn't finish, forget her.

"Hey," Sasuke snapped at the first girl to walk out from behind the burgundy curtains. "Vodka and an ash tray."

* * *

Vodka . . . and an ash tray. The famous last words of Uchiha Sasuke. XDDDDD

Yes! We've got it all! Tensions that run so high, hair frizzes and drama is laid on thick!

Come get your SasuHina from the best in town! CocoaAngel95! XDDDDD X3

R&R Please and Thank You X3


	12. Redheads and Sunsets

A red Cadillac DTS pulled up in front of the airport and Hinata slid out the door. Her black patent leather peep-toe Versace pumps clicked against the Honolulu Airport sidewalk as if she were leaving something or _someone_ behind. And possibly on purpose. But let's be serious. Hinata would _never_ leave anyone behind. She's much too kind and sweet.

Blatantly, she ignored Sasuke as he carried _their_ suitcases out. The chauffer, a round, curvaceous woman slid out of the car and gave Hinata a wane smile, taking the bags from Sasuke. Hinata crossed her arms haughtily, still hurt from his comment about four hours ago.

"Look, Hinata," Sasuke said, and watched as she tilted her head in acknowledgement. Almost like she was _expecting_ him to apologize.

His eye twitched.

This little _bitch_ was so dead to him! If she thought he was going to apologize for something she started then fuck her!

But isn't that what he used to do? Wasn't it almost daily that they would end up nestled in each other's arms, drawing warmth from their bare skin touching each other? Wasn't it almost everyday that he saw her and wasn't it almost daily that he'd go home with her?

Besides, he hated having her like this. She was in a constant bad mood and he was only making it worst. Even Fuguka and Hiashi didn't get on her case as much from the one time she blew up in Neji's face for not booking a luncheon for a few days later.

"If you're going to say something, then say it," she snapped and he quickly lost any appreciation he had for her. She was getting to be a real pain in the ass and he swore to God, the next time she wanted to start something-

"I'm leaving!" Hinata said brushing invisible lent from her black-polished denim hip-huggers, sliding into the backseat of the Cadillac. "Unless you wish to be left behind, I suggest you get in as well."

"You're getting to be a real pain," he mumbled, sliding in beside her.

She didn't answer, instead looking over company stats on her PalmPoliet. Fine, let the bitch be a bitch. Like he cared for her and her bitchiness anyways. It didn't bother him any.

The car ride to the hotel was tensely silent.

-

Hinata sighed, looking to her reflection in the mirror. In a red floor-length Vera Wang Chinese-style dress with gold embroidery, she had thin gold bracelets up and down her thin wrists. A slit ran from her creamy thigh to the hem of the dress that kissed the floor lightly. Her blue hair was swept up into an elegant bun and gold dangly earrings hung in her lobes.

"The things I do for my job," she sighed, shoving her phone and backup makeup into her gold Vera Wang sequined clutch.

The door to her suit opened and she huffed, turning to face Sasuke, fists on her hips. "Do you mind?"

Sasuke shoved his hands into the pockets of his black Hermes dress pants, wearing an open gray oxford shirt with Hanes t-shirt. "Nope."

She turned back to the brass mirror sitting over her sleek mahogany six-drawer dresser. "You could at least knock."

"Why should I? It never bothered you before."

Snippily, she grabbed her gold Chanel, her full red lips thinned, her gold-dusted eyes glaring at him. "That was _before_ I knew it meant _nothing_ to you."

He blinked as she wrapped the shrug around her shoulders and shoved past him, her shoulder slamming into his. He stumbled back and scowled, snapping around to follow after her.

_At least he knows his place now_, she thought.

-

"So who are we meeting again?" Sasuke muttered, looking to Hinata beside him at the table.

Hinata sipped her water and he looked to the rim, looking for proof that her red lipstick was actually lipstick. There wasn't a smudge. "Subuka Gaara. If you had been _listening_ when I was _talking_ to you and not _ogling_ my flight attendant, you would have known that."

He didn't respond, instead looking away. She did have a point though. Near the end of the trip, he was about to make that girl scream his name. But didn't want to deal with her when he came back. He'd rather agree to Naruto's no-brained ideas than have to deal with a girl he had a one-night-stand with. He shuddered when he was to think of what would happen.

"Mr. Subuka," Hinata stood with a bright smile, greeting someone. He had piercing sea-foam green eyes (Sasuke didn't know how such a girly color could make a grown man piss his pants, but hey) with a shock of wild red hair. His eyes were rimmed with black rings and his face the picture of a calm ocean, waves _not_ included. In other words, he was very handsome.

Hinata slid out of her chair and greeted him, a small coating of blush on her cheeks (Sasuke had seen her administer it quickly). "Ano, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Subuka." Her English was flawless, with barely an accent.

Sasuke felt his eyebrow twitch as Gaara took Hinata's delicate hand and did something no one would ever see again.

He kissed it.

And Hinata was _immediately_ smitten.

Her cheeks turned twice as red as her blush, like she had been pinched in the cheeks. "O-oh!"

"It is a pleasure for me as well," Gaara's face was a picture of absolute calm and Hinata was almost swooning, practically _salivating_ over him. Sasuke scoffed silently behind them. What was it with women and the men that treated them like delicate pieces of rare art?

Especially when the first hadn't.

Hinata turned to him, her face bright. "This is Uchiha Sasuke, my partner-in-crime."

Gaara held out a hand to him, his face still as stone. "Welcome, Uchiha-san. I hope your flight was pleasurable."

Hinata scoffed this time, crossing her arms. "Yeah, especially when you're making out with the cute stewardess."

Gaara raised an eyebrow at Sasuke who immediately shook his head, glaring daggers at Hinata. That woman could rot in hell, but he wouldn't say it to her face. He knew for a fact that Hinata could make his life hell in the next six days to come.

Hinata took a seat right across from Gaara, lacing her fingers under her chin and pressing her knees together. "So, tell me about yourself, Mr. Subuka."

Gaara's eyes regarded her with interest; interest Sasuke did not like nor trust one single _ion _of. "Please, Ms. Hyuga, call me Gaara."

"Then you have the pleasure of calling me Hinata." Hinata gave him her famous innocent closed-lip smile. Looking as naïve as she was intelligent and brutal. Sasuke knew.

"And you can call me _disgusted_," Sasuke muttered under his breath, turning to face the window. He just wanted out really badly.

-

"Wasn't Gaara-san wonderful?" Hinata sighed as they retreated back to their hotel suits.

Sasuke blatantly ignored her question. "Do you think his office is here? I can't see it being here, he's so pale."

"His skin is like porcelain, so smooth and soft." Her cheeks turned pink as she tittered. "Listen to me! God, I sound like a schoolgirl with a crush on my teacher!"

"Yeah, it's that sickening."

Her eye twitched as he faced forward. "What was that?"

"Nothing."

She smirked, realization dawning on her. "You're _jealous_."

"Nope."

Her eye twitched again at his calm answer. "Oh really?"

"Yes really. I know for a fact I don't care who you like."

"Fine then," she said, walking up to him and leaning forward a bit, to catch his eye. "You won't mind me taking up Gaara's invitation to breakfast, do you?"

"No."

She watched as the corner of his lips twitched . . . downward. A frown. A blatant frown that he was trying to hide. He was so jealous! Ha! She knew it all along. He was so jealous of her and Gaara!

She could so totally use this to her advantage.

"Good," she giggled, playing up her blush as they stopped in front of her suite. "I'm going to be up all night planning a good enough outfit."

Closing her door, she caught his eyebrow twitching and nearly burst into laughter. This was better than she anticipated. And if everything went as she hoped it would, it would prove to be a little fun and exciting. Life was getting boring with that little "mutual understanding" pact they had made.

Swiftly, she swiveled around and took off her gold open-toed ankle-strap Gucci strappy sandals.

_Mutual understanding my ass. I'm about to have fun._

-

She was bluffing.

Sasuke knew for a fact, she was bluffing.

Gaara hadn't asked her to breakfast, had he? And if he did, why wasn't _he_ going? What was he supposed to do? Sit on the sidelines and be a good little boy? If there was one thing Sasuke wasn't, it was being a good boy.

Even _acting_ like one was hard for him.

He sighed, stripping his oxford shirt and dropping it into on a whicker cushioned chair. He popped a cigarette between his succulent lips and walked out the glass sliding doors onto the little cherry-wood deck that belonged to his suite.

Outside, sand stuck in between his toes as he reclined in a whicker lounge chair, watching the sun set over the ocean. The sky was a mix of oranges, pinks and blues with hints of indigo all around. It was a beautiful time of night.

Too bad he couldn't share it with Hinata.

* * *

So! Sasuke knows he fucked up royally!

Hinata! Is about to have some fun with Mr. Subuka!

Gaara! Has a little trick up his Armani sleeve as well!

And! Yes, I did add Gaara to our lovers' quarrel! All the more for you to enjoy, darling! XDDDD X3

R&R Please! I needs to know what Gaara's gonna do! Tell me what you think!

(You know who you are!)


	13. What's Underneath the Hermes Linen Suit?

Who the hell was he kidding?

Sasuke sighed, leaning against the railing of his balcony. A cigarette sat between his lips, bobbing up and down. His raven-dark bangs swayed in the salty-tasting breeze of the ocean and a mug of freshly brewed hazelnut coffee sat on the dry wood railing.

Unfortunately, he realized that if he leaned far over the rail far enough, he got a clear view of Hinata and Gaara sitting at the outdoor bar area of the hotel. Bright morning light glinted off Hinata's ponytail, making it turn a gorgeous indigo, the one Sasuke loved to see every morning, well ever since their affair anyways.

He scoffed. When the hell had he become such a romantic?

"Since never," he muttered, to probably reassure himself, as he leaned over the railing, watching them.

_This was stupid_, he realized. He didn't move though.

_She's gonna be pissed at me_, he thought. He shifted to a more comfortable stance.

"Alright," he muttered, going back inside. He closed the sliding door and picked up the remote to his room. Pushing down on the curtains button, he stood in front of them until they were completely closed before sighing. He tossed the remote on his California king-sized bed and headed for his bathroom.

He had other things to worry about, like his job. Oh wait, Hinata was about to fuck the person who was most important to them.

-

Hinata found Gaara completely riveting. And it wasn't even to spite Sasuke. After their quiet, comfortable, peaceful and most surprisingly, _uneventful_ breakfast, he had taken her for a walk around the beach. It was dawn and so beautiful, she couldn't help but gush about it.

And she even admitted she didn't talk that much even at a conference.

He laughed!

No, it was more of a chuckle and a flicker of amusement in his eyes. God, his gorgeous, gorgeous eyes. Such a pretty, pretty sea-foam green. They were a shock to her system every time she looked in them, like a bucket of cold water on her sleeping form.

Sasuke's deep black _paled_ in comparison.(Get it? Paled? Oh God, she cracked herself up)

Sadly, the sweet moment didn't last for forever, like she was hoping against hope for, but instead, Gaara listened as she continued to rant and rave about her job; the good and the bad.

He didn't interrupt her, like a _certain_ someone. He didn't roll his eyes, like a _certain_ someone. He didn't take advantage of her moments of quiet to say something incredibly head-reducing. And he certainly didn't snort or _scoff_ at any of her ideas.

Then she realized what she was doing.

She wanted to slap herself.

Sasuke was _nothing_ compared to this mass of beautiful next to her. Gaara was like . . . _five_ Sasukes in a _good_ mood walking down Fifth Avenue in New York City. He was that _yummy_.

She decided, right then and there, that she was going to enjoy her yummy treat. _Sasuke be damned_, she thought victoriously, bouncing along side Gaara with something close to pride. _You had our fun, now it's time for mine_.

-

Why was he so pissy about this?

Sasuke blatantly ignored Hinata as she gushed and raved about how Gaara was _such_ an amazing person.

_He doesn't seem_ so _amazing_, he thought sourly, before giving his mind a good throttling. Since when did he care for Hinata and her stupid relationships that had nothing to do with him?

_Since _never_!!!_ He wanted to scream, but couldn't find the energy, or the right emotion to do so. Either he was deliberately doing this or there was some hidden meaning behind it. And he be _damned_ if he let some pretty boy be the cause of his mood-swings.

"-and then," Hinata was like a goddamn waterfall, and he was about to dam the stupid, babbling thing.

"Shut it," he snapped and she blinked. It was quiet as they stared at each other before storm clouds appeared on her face. Sasuke had to stop himself from letting his jaw drop and his perfectly good cigarette hit the sandy –as in sandy _sandy_, not the color- pale red carpet of their hotel (he wanted to rip it up, and knew exactly why).

She turned on the heel of her flat, gold Juicy Couture sandals, hands fisting up at the sides of her cuffed white denim Miss Sixty Capri's. "I see how it is. You're just jealous of Gaara. Which I find childish and stupid. And quite frankly, I find it a total turn-off."

His eyebrow twitched.

She _did not_ just go there.

There was _no way_ she had just said that . . . had she? Bull-fucking-shit. Like he cared for her opinion. No, seriously, he didn't. It didn't matter if he was a big turn-off to her. If she thought he cared, he didn't.

Or, that's what he kept telling himself. Sadly, Sasuke was a sucky liar.

"Gaara is much better than you'll ever be," she said, lifting her delicate, ski-slope nose to the air, leaving him fuming. "I can't see how I ever liked you in the first place. Let alone _loved_ you."

His breath, literally, choked in his throat. That was _hurtful_, even to him. Hadn't there been times where deep in the night he had heard those three little words? Hadn't she whispered, not even shivering in a moment of heat? Hadn't they meant anything to her? Hell, they had mattered even a _little_ to _him_.

No matter how ego-bruising though, he wasn't going to give in. Even if he felt he had already done so.

She was already leaving him behind.

The back of her white t-shirt was all he was seeing right now and even _that_ was disappearing rapidly.

"Damn," he muttered, kicking a nearby potted plant.

What was it with her?

What was so good about Gaara?

What was so damn aggravating about this whole situation?

Why was he losing to some loser red-head?

What the hell was he supposed do now?

Where the hell was he supposed to go now?

He slid down the wall, huffing and trying to regain whatever dignity he had left. Ha! Right, like there was any dignity left for him in all this stupidity. Why couldn't Hinata see? What was so cool about a red-head with sea green eyes? (No wait; they were sea-_foam_ green, right?)

And why did he fee like such an ass?

He dropped his head in his hands, feeling stupid and left out in the rain.

He hated this feeling. The feeling of being left alone. The feeling of being the one on the outside looking in. The feeling of being the third wheel, the third spoke. When was it going to be his turn to finally step inside the door?

Standing briskly, he headed for the one sanctuary in this damn place, his bedroom.

_Most likely, never._

-

Hinata was tempted to call Hanabi and possibly Sakura and rave what had just gone down. She had destroyed he legendary playboy's ego! Ha! Take that, Uchiha Sasuke! She was _so_ over him and his moody, childish ways.

Gaara was the new _in_.

Sasuke was the new _out_.

She plopped down in the white-and-sky-blue striped cushion in the whicker arm chair and smiled to herself.

Then it hit her, hard and brutal. Kind of like a wrecking ball of guilt on her whole day and experience.

She had _crushed_ Sasuke, like a bug under a spike heel Versace platform pump. Shino would have pissed his pants if Hinata had done such a thing, but gladly, he wasn't here. And when he wasn't here, Hinata didn't have to feel obliged to explain that she hadn't _meant_ to squash the poor thing.

Just like she had _meant_ to exterminate Sasuke.

It was like being caught red-handed by Shino with exterminator gear on and going away at a poor African beetle.

_Extremely_ stupid and _not_ a very good idea.

"Whatever," she said aloud, trying to get over this overwhelming feeling of losing something. "It's not like he cared anyways."

She bounded from her chair and dropped onto her Californa-king sized bed, cradling the soft, down-filled pillow under her head. She didn't care anymore. It didn't matter. He didn't matter.

It was all Gaara from here on out.

Oh, and her job too.

-

Sasuke made it a point to not make it to dinner. Hinata felt her anger flare up and go down almost instantly. It was her fault anyways.

She _should_ apologize.

She _should_ go back and admit that she was wrong.

She _should_ say that she hadn't meant to hurt him, even though she had.

She _should_ be focusing on her job instead of the snow-white Hermes linen suit Gaara was wearing and what was _underneath_ it.

"It looks as if he won't make it," she said to Gaara, feeling a stab of guilt. "I'm sure he's not feeling well." _Because, you know, I crushed his ego in the hallway not eight hours ago_, she finished in her head.

Gaara nodded silently, motioning for their waiter to back. "Then I guess we can get started."

She felt a warm feeling hit her stomach. Gaara was so smooth! He was like a polished marble floor! He didn't hesitate in his decisions, he plowed through and there was no stopping him!

_Oh god_, she giggled, _I'm like a school girl with a crush on her teacher_.

It was a shame she actually _liked_ this feeling.

* * *

And we continue the wonderous relationship of Gaara the Hottie and Hinata the Princess of Hyuga & Uchiha Co-Op!

Ohmygawd! It's like a freaking soap-opera! I do loves me a good story here and there! XDDDDD

How many of you have watched Deseperate Housewives? Tell in the reviews! And constructive critizsm is welcome too^^


	14. Three Days and Fruity Hairsprays

Sasuke grumbled into the white, down-filled pillow. His eyes were still closed, but he got the feeling he wasn't in Kansas anymore. There was the smell of sweet, peachy body mist and fruity hair products. Like he was in a girl's room or something. Smoothly, he flipped over and got a face full of blond hair. _Platinum_ blond hair.

His first thought was; _Oh shit, it's Ino._

But then he realized Ino wasn't with him and Hinata on this business trip. In fact, she was probably dragging Shikamaru and Choji around the globe, looking for the latest and greatest designers. No doubt she'd be contacting Sakura who would contact Hinata . . .

He closed his eyes with an angry grunt. That little bitch wasn't any of his concern. Just so long as she was ready to get down to business, then he was cool. If she didn't want to be with him, so be it. He had hundreds of women throwing themselves at his feet anyways. Pick one, any one will do.

Exhibit A: the blond bartender who was sleeping soundly next to him.

Sitting up, he slid from the under the apricot down comforter and tugged on his straight-legged dark-distressed Citizen of Humanity jeans. His fingers slid into the back pocket and he pulled his pack of cigarettes out. The least he could do was have a good smoke before leaving this chick to wake up by herself at –he checked the alarm clock's neon blue lights- seven in the goddamn morning.

He sank into the cushy whicker chair near the sliding doors of the hotel room and propped them open with his bare foot. The cool, salty ocean breeze filled his nose and his fingers fumbled with the pack. That damn smell, making him think of _her_ once again.

A growl of frustration bubbled in his throat but he swallowed it back. No wonder his father said office relations were never meant to be. No matter how much he wanted to forget Hinata, he couldn't, because she was always in his face about something. Always in his face because well, she worked there, they were the co-bosses of Hyuga & Uchiha Co-Op.

"Shit," he barked softly, shaking his hand and glaring at his lighter. The damn flame had burnt the tip of his thumb. He groaned. Today was the day he had to sign documents. Hinata had sent him the message in text.

_No doubt after fucking his red ass_, he had thought bitterly.

Frustrated and pissy, he bit clean through his cigarette and nearly gagged on the god-awful taste filling his mouth. Spiting the damned thing out, he expected it to start raining, just to fit his mood, but it didn't. It was still sunny and bright-blue as ever. The seagulls wheeled over the deep blue waves of the ocean, diving and swooping. Little kids danced in the sand, their mothers and fathers close by incase something happened to them.

His parents never did that for him. They were too busy fussing over Itachi and his uber-coolness. They loved that their eldest was the smartest, the greatest, the best-at-every-fucking-thing-that-crossed-his-mother-fucking-path. Nothing about little baby brother Sasuke.

His onyx eyes rolled so hard, they could have fallen out of his head.

He had doted on Itachi. Listened to his every word. Dared himself to be just as good as his great elder brother. Then maybe Fuguka would give him the time of day. So his mother didn't have to worry about him so much. He could become a great person as well.

"Yeah right," he snorted, as a knot formed in his chest.

He had to get out of here before he started sniveling like a sissy.

Grabbing his Ralph Lauren rugby Polo shirt, he slipped his feet into his sensible shoes and was out of the door in a flash. All he left was his pack of cigarettes and a lingering smell of delicious cologne. That girl wouldn't even realize he was gone.

Just as he turned the corner to his hallway, Hinata was right there glaring at him. She was dressed in a slouchy indigo long-sleeves top that hung off her right shoulder, her black bikini top strings creating a V up her shoulders and around her neck. Tight white Ann Taylor shorts accented her long legs and perky butt. Her raven-dark hair was in a tight, low ponytail, black Dior shades perched on top of her head.

Her arms crossed over her large bust and her eyes narrowed. "Where the hell have _you_ been, Uchiha?"

He didn't even answer, just shoved his hands in his pocket, curled his lip and skirted around her. She turned swiftly on her white canvas peep-toe March Jacobs cork wedges, marching after him. Reaching out, her long manicured nails gripped his shoulder and with a strength he didn't know she had, spun him around to face her.

Her pearly eyes were mere slits, she was clearly pissed. "Where were you? I asked a question and you are _supposed_ to answer."

His eyes narrowed, angry bubbling inside. "You sure you want to know?"

"You are my co-worker! I should have known where you were! I haven't seen you around for _three_ days, Uchiha! Where the fuck were you!" Her voice was a dangerous hiss.

He blinked. Three days? Was that seriously right? He was sure he had done at least fives girls, so three days probably was logical. That meant he had another two days left. Hurray.

Her head snapped back as he looked her straight in the eye. He didn't have to say anything, and it clearly hit some nerve inside of her. Though he didn't think she had that nerve anymore. Especially by the way she was treating him these days. Especially with the way she was treating _him_ these days.

Her throat went dry and she pursed her lips. "That is so typical."

She turned and marched away, her shoulders squared. He turned around and threw open the door of his suite. What the fuck? Why did she have the right to get angry and he didn't? Why was he the bad guy all the time! Couldn't there be someone else who did that job? Couldn't he be the knight-in-shining-armor, come to rescue his damsel-in-distress?

The door slammed shut as he held back rage. He wanted to cry, but didn't, since it was _way_ out of character. Maybe smashing his fist into something would help him. Break a nose. Maybe break _his_ nose.

He snorted; _Maybe get a goddamn life, asshole._

His bare feet padded across the carpeted floors to his suite's awesome bathroom. After a quick, hot shower, he'd head down to the gym. Pound a few bags, lift a few weights, work up a good sweat. He was a guy; he didn't have the luxury of stuffing his face with whipped cream and ice-cream. Cry to his friends over the phone. His tears were sweat damnit. And he would sweat until he could sweat no more.

-

Her eyes stayed on her whiskey. She didn't even drink whiskey, but it was nice once in a while, just to stare at anyways. _Stupid, stupid, stupid, Hinata_. That's what she was thinking. All this time, he was out with some girl, or possibly girl_s_, getting some while she was drooling over Gaara and getting none. And now she was getting pissy over him because he was out with said girls.

It's only a natural instinct. He probably hated being alone as much as he hated being ignored. It's human nature to go with someone for the feeling of having someone close. That was probably why their affair was so treasured to her. Hanabi was off in France, TenTen smelled of gunpowder and Chanel No.5 and Neji just wasn't exactly the hugging type.

She sniffled, dropping her head in her newly manicured hands. That was so stupid, to act like his mother. She wasn't his mother. She didn't tell him what to do. She didn't raise him, give birth to him, conceive him.

That didn't cheer her up. She still felt like shit.

And knew exactly why.

Five fucking days. Five fucking days since she arrived here. A Friday too. How wonderful. Now she had _two_ more days to go and she'd be scotch-free. Wouldn't have to deal with anyone like this every again. Just get up and go, don't look back, and sure as hell don't act sad.

She knew why she was all over Gaara. Because she likes to be looked at. She likes to be acknowledged for her intellect. She likes to be heard and not be the one hearing. She likes that he was willing to do things different and compromise a certain way.

And she didn't even notice Sasuke was gone _until_ today.

"How lame," she blurted and the bartender gave her a sideways glance, cleaning out a tumbler. Quickly, she gobbled down some peanuts and chugged her whiskey. It burned her throat and brought tears to her eyes. Now she had a reason to cry. This shit burned. Burned good.

She raised a shaky hand and he came back warily. Noticing she wasn't _completely_ hammered, he refilled her glass of whiskey. With another wary glance, he moved down four feet and appeased a group of giggling ladies in need of refreshments.

Hinata sniffled, wishing Hanabi was there beside her. Then they could giggle too, and make up jokes about his job. That was fun for her. Hanabi was always fun for her. Neji should be doing this, not her. But then again, she loved the late nights and the drama of her office. Just not when it was about _her_.

Her white leather Balenciaga bag began vibrating and she reached inside. Tearfully, she tapped the screen of her Palm Treo and listened to the recorded message on her Voice Mail. It was Neji, saying that she had two days to seal the deal or Fuguka and Hiashi would come down for her.

"Let them," she growled/slurred, and tossed the electronic device back in her bag. She downed her drink and slid off her chair. The world was spinning a little bit. The girls giggling were becoming a troublesome thing. For the love of God, would someone shut them _up_ . . .?

"Look," she snapped, scowling darkly and threateningly at the gaggle of preppy, twenty-one-year-old girls in tight brightly colored bikinis and espadrille heels as they quickly gasped and smothered their surprised looks. "Today, isn't a very good day, okay? I've got too many things to do and possibly not enough time to do it. I have a fucking ex-boyfriend who currently hates my guts, a new love interest and God knows what else is coming after me. So please, please, please, could you _SHUT UP_?"

The girls nodded in union, a look of empathy on their plastic faces. Hinata gave a sigh of relief and left the shocked bar on wobbly legs. Let the world go on around her, just keep it quiet and out her way, damnit.

In the hallway outside her suite, she let her forehead touch the cool white door with the gold accents and antique brass handle. She hated herself. She hated Sasuke. She hated Gaara and his hotness. She hated Hyuga & Uchiha Co-Op. She hated her father. She hated her boss, Fuguka. She hated Itachi. She hated Neji. She hated Hanabi. She hated Shino and Kiba. She hated Sakura and Naruto. She hated everything and everyone.

But she _especially_ hated herself.

Why, you ask?

Because behind that door wasn't a smirking Sasuke who would be waiting for her to come back and fuck her silly. It wasn't a giggling Hanabi who would teach her how to perm her hair by herself in the bathroom sink. It wasn't an over-zealous Kiba and quiet-confident Shino to give her warm bear hugs and stroke her hair and make her laugh out loud. It wasn't a perky Sakura to sip lattes with and whisper about Sasuke to. It wasn't an obnoxious Naruto to exclaim that Sasu-teme was a jerk and deserved a needle up his ass.

Tears poured down her cheeks as she checked her thin, white Gucci wrist watch. Ten fifteen . . . a.m. Nice. It wasn't even happy hour yet and she was already drunk and crying over spilt milk.

Her world tilted dangerously suddenly and large, warm hands grabbed her shoulders, holding her steady. She closed her eyes and spun around, throwing her arms around Gaara's tight waist. She didn't care anymore. She just wanted to get laid and fall fast asleep. It would help with the pain. She'd be pushed over the brink of ecstasy, drown in that sea of pleasure. There was no pain in pleasure.

Sasuke had taught her that.

* * *

I feel that this Gaara relationship isn't going to get very far . . . Sadly. I had really been hoping it would go somewhere, but then I realized that she was going back to Japan eventually and he was to stay here in the states to keep things running so yeah . . . Don't worry, I'll think of something, just gotta give me a second.

R&R Please and Thank You!

Oh, and one more thing! Did any of you realize that Shino has NO love in the anime? I find this incredibly sad . . . I might get him a girlfriend. Think up names and I'll see what I can do! X3 (Yeah, I'm a Shino Lover. Big whoop, wanna fight about it?)


	15. Sore Shoulders and Nosy but Hot RedHeads

She was dreaming of Gaara. Gaara and his gloriousness. Gaara and his gloriousness to leave her hanging.

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

The sound of her alarm clock was absolutely annoying. She rolled over and hit the end alarm button, hugging the duvet to herself. And no, not her bare skin, like _some_ would have thought. Her eyes closed tiredly as she flopped back over, into the middle of her large bed, frowning depressingly at the door.

He had rejected her.

The lump formed in her throat as she thought about. He hadn't given in, like most men would have. He hadn't agreed to her silent pleading. Just led her to bed, tucked her in, wished her goodnight and _left_.

No sex, no screaming in passion, no nothing.

He just _left_.

She _should_ have felt grateful he hadn't take advantage of her. And, reasonably she was . . . kind of. She had been hoping he'd be a regular guy and take his chance. Take her to bed and make her wish she didn't have to leave the states so soon. But he didn't. He just kind of . . . left her hanging, as Sasuke would put it.

Her eyes watered up again.

And Sasuke.

God, she didn't even know if she liked Sasuke after this. After being gone for three days, she hadn't been expecting him to go off and fuck _five_ different girls. Yeah, he told her, because she wanted an explanation for _why_ he had been gone for so long. She got her wish, Sasuke was moving on. Sasuke didn't need her anymore. She was just some chick he had fucked for fun.

Her bottom lip trembled and she lifted a hand to run through her greasy, blue hair. It was becoming a shade darker from all this sun, which was weird, considering how short her stay here was.

Light fluttered through the ivory curtains that hung in front of the sliding glass doors. They were open slightly, to allow some of the morning light to flood a little spot on the sandy blue carpet. She turned her head away, wrapping the blanket around her head so that light was blocked from her eyes.

This morning, she didn't want to get up. Everything felt too . . . _weird_. Like she was waking up in an alternate universe. But no, it was still Honolulu and she still had to finish up business with Gaara and his company. She still had to deal with Sasuke and their relationship issues. She still had to put up with her father, Hiashi, and his partner-in-crime, Fuguka.

Her life was one big episode after another. One minute, she'd be dating the legendary man himself and the next; she was throwing cold water down his pants in a five-star restaurant. One minute, she was mourning over her loss of a great boyfriend and the next she was fucking her next lover boy.

Hanabi would have called her a slut and a heartbreaker by now.

"I'm not a slut," she mumbled under her breath, sniffling lightly.

In the past, there had been so many guys during her high school days. Shino and Kiba had been there the whole time, dealing with one after the other. Those days, she was _hoping _-key word here: hoping- to find her dream guy. But that was high-school. No one finds _anyone_ in high-school. Because, well, it's high-school.

What is puppy love is mistaken for passion. What is passion is mistaken for heartbreak. Back in high-school, no one would take _anything_ seriously. You could have been the most serious person in school, like uptight Shino. You were still able to joke around.

Her eyes closed, burning lightly. Sometimes, she wished she could just fall asleep and walk up fifteen-years-old again. Go back a few years and do a re-do on her pathetic life. Maybe her confidence would be fixed a little if she knew she was going to become the COO to an international company some day in the near future. Maybe show her father she wasn't some worthless hunk of his skin and blood he thought she was.

She snorted. Yeah right. Father didn't even appreciate Hanabi, so why should he to her?

Her jaw clenched and she clamped her burning eyes shut. Was everything against her in the world? Was she just supposed to sit back and take it? Like a good girl's supposed to?

Hell no.

She was Hyuga Hinata. Her _older_ cousin worked for her. Businessmen _competed_ for her acceptance. Women treated her as a role model. She had been on magazine covers that had _nothing_ to do with her line of work. She went to the _Oscars_ with Hanabi. She owned millions of businesses and always managed to hide from the Monopoly laws.

Fatigue swept over her body and she gratefully accepted it. She was tired of trying to find a reason to be happy. It was too depressing, realizing she didn't have a lot to be happy for. But that was probably why she as having that affair with Sasuke. Because she had something to look forward to, to be happy about, to look forward to after the end of the day.

A small, sad smile fell on her unglossed lips. Things were so much better when she was in a pathetic excuse of love.

-

Sasuke, on the other hand, was finishing last minute business with Gaara. Right after he got Gaara to sign the last of the documents and agree over the terms, he and Hinata would be hitting the road. They were getting out of this place today, and he wasn't taking no for an answer.

The minute Gaara's pen lifted from the paper, Sasuke popped the document into the manila folder, labeled it and dropped it into his briefcase. His didn't have an organized little purple folder thing like Hinata's, so he'd give it to her to file correctly later.

Gaara capped his pen and gave Sasuke a nod. "Is that it?"

Absentmindedly, Sasuke checked everything. "I believe that's it. Thank you for you time and cooperation."

Gaara gave a ghost of a wry smirk. "You sound like a telephone call girl."

His black eyes narrowed then he chuckled. "I did, didn't I?"

They stood and Sasuke felt a little of the barrier break around him. He had been a little tense today, but now he was feeling better. Mainly because in twelve hours or less, he and Hinata would be back home, enjoying themselves-

No, they'd be at their respective houses, listening to a conference on their computers while trying to relax and ease away their jet lag. Of course, that wasn't going to happen because Fuguka and Hiashi believed that everyone was just as equal to them and had the stamina of a jackhammer, which is incredibly stupid, like they are.

"About your friend," Gaara began and Sasuke blinked, trying to tense up again. His "friend" wasn't exactly "friend". They were more like jealous ex-lovers. But he wasn't going to tell Gaara that.

"What about her?" he said, glancing to the man beside him.

Gaara's posture was ridiculously straight and Sasuke stopped his usual, slouch-and-shove-hands-into-pockets to stand tall next to him. Gaara didn't notice, or pretended not to notice, and Sasuke realized they were the same height and same build. _Freaky_.

Gaara gave a ghost of a smile, peachy-pale skin turning golden from morning sun. "I believe she has a crush on me."

Sasuke snorted and turned his head away. That wasn't supposed to come out. Hinata was going to snatch his ass up. She was going to chew him up, spit him out and stomp on him with impossibly high spike Versace heels. He almost shuddered at the thought because knowing her; she probably would do just that. It wasn't highly unlikely here.

Gaara looked to him. "I believe something happened between you two."

"Nope." Sasuke scowled in his head. That answer was a little too quick.

Gaara raised a brush stroke eyebrow. "If you say so." He turned down a separate hallway and Sasuke watched him for a while before scurrying off towards his room. What was up with that man! Scrounging around in people's business . . .

If Gaara even so much as laid an ear on information about them and Hinata found out, he was dead!

D to the E to the A to the D.

Deader than a doornail.

No longer among the living.

Kicked the Bucket.

Not-coming-back-for-another-chapter-dead.

He bit down on his lip and stopped his mind from coming up with synonyms to say "dead". It was starting to scare him a little bit, and Uchiha men don't fear anything. They also don't get emotionally attached, but he had already broken _that_ rule so why not break so more while he was at it.

-

Hinata groaned, sitting up and rubbing her sore shoulder. She had slept on it awkwardly and now it was all sore and her neck had a kink in it. Grumbling to herself, she slid from bed and shed her sweaty clothing in the afternoon light. It was disgusting that she hadn't taken a shower since seven this morning.

Wrapping her turquoise terry cloth robe around herself, she frowned at her stingy, greasy hair in the brass antique mirror above her dresser. She looked a mess, with oily skin and red cheeks. They weren't even cute little pinch-able red cheeks. They were blotchy, like she had been crying.

Which she had, but let's not get into that right now.

Her door flew open and she suppressed a scream as Sasuke stood in the door way.

"What the fuck!" she hissed then sighed and straightened herself up. He merely stared at her, a briefcase in one hand and the other shoved into his ivory cargo shorts. They were paired with a brown American Eagle polo shirt and Hinata was tempted to say how good he looked, but didn't. They had a "mutual agreement" pact, and she wasn't going to ruin it now. Even though she had been bending the rules with her angry comments about. But that's for later.

"Is there something you need?" she asked as he sauntered in.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she eyed him, all the while wondering what this man was about to do. She wanted nothing to do with him right now, especially when she was feeling crappy and not up for a challenge. And of course, a challenge he would most likely issue.

"I got the rest of the documents signed," he said in his monotone, masculine voice, dropping the briefcase on her bed. "I probably didn't label them right so you can take care of that. I'll get the plane ready for tomorrow."

Her eyes widened as she looked to him. "You . . . you actually finished everything?"

"Yes," he said, curiously eyeing her. "I figure, since I haven't been around for a while, I owe it to you. It is my company as well, Hinata."

Her heart pounded in her chest from just her name slipping from his full, luscious lips and she smiled, with _actual_ appreciation. "Oh, thank you then. Yes, I can file them correctly for you. We'll go over them when we get back home, okay?"

He nodded and left the room briskly, leaving her with a pocket of silence and the memory of him being in her room. She picked up the brown leather briefcase and wrapped her arms around it, beaming to no one but herself. Maybe Sasuke wasn't such a bad guy after all. He just needed to be . . . jostled around a little before it kicked in.

-

He shook his head, leaning into the salty-tasting breeze and letting out a cloud of smoke. His eyes were focused on the back of a red-head, standing tall and broad shoulder. He was talking into a cell phone -looked like a Blackberry- his black-sandal clad feet sinking into the sand just outside the bar area.

Sasuke placed the cigarette between his lips again, and leaned against the railing on his elbow. Gaara's head turned away and he couldn't tell the expression on his face.

His mind wandered back to Hinata. And how . . . appreciative she had looked when he had given her the rest of the documents. Obviously, he was now on her good side. No hard feelings today.

He shook his head again, ignoring the hole in his chest that was gradually filling. Uchiha men aren't supposed to get emotionally attached. They just weren't and it wasn't natural for them to get attached. Women were just instruments in their lives, very talkitive and annoying, but enough to keep them busy. But let's not get Uchiha men wrong. They were cold hard. Like ice straight from the arctic. They just couldn't melt.

But like he said, he had already broken that rule.

* * *

Uchiha men sound brutal . . . But hey! Fuguka married! He must not have been so bad in the "good ol' days" XDDDD I use this term lightly XDD

Anyways, I'm so glad you're enjoying this! I have to thank you for you reviews! They're really great and I seriously appreciate them! (I learned -after about two months- how to spell it RIGHT! XDDD) They're great advice and I would so luh-ve for you to keep them up! Don't you dare stop because when you do, I get sad. And you don't like me sad . . . .

Love ya! R&R Please and Thank You! X3


	16. Gossip on Autumn's Doorstep

Hiashi nodded, pleased with how things went. "I am most pleased. You've done a good job."

Hinata held her smiling to a minimum. "Thank you father, Fuguka. Plans for construction in America are already being set up. Gaa- I mean Subaku-san has agreed to take care of that."

Fuguka raised an eyebrow as Sasuke sat back in his seat, his cold demeanor up and blowing cold air through the office. "Who is _Gaa_?"

"Gaara," Sasuke said, and Hinata felt her cheeks warm, looking down into the lap of her slate blue pencil skirt. "His name is Subaku Gaara."

Hiashi narrowed his eyes and thinned his lips, staring at Hinata. "Did something happen in Honolulu, Hinata?"

Neji and Itachi quit their quiet conversation. Itachi stared pointedly at his younger brother while Neji clenched his jaw, prepared to book a flight on his Blackberry Touch and find this "Gaara".

"N-no father," Hinata mumbled, pinching herself under the table for stuttering. It was so obvious she was lying.

Hiashi sighed, drumming his fingers on the desk. "You've heard this over and over again Hinata. In fact, you enforce this common rule. And you know all too well what happens, don't you?"

Sasuke didn't even _stiffen_. Instead, he pressed his fist to his mouth and she saw quirk in his lips. He was _enjoying_ this?! The sudden urge to slam the chucky heel of her square-toe Ralph Lauren deep blue ankle boots up his toned ass was incredibly strong. But she refrained, figuring some _guy_ might want that ass. The gay pun made her feel slightly better about herself.

She nodded. "Yes father, I do."

"Good. Then I hope you do not jeopardize this by your actions."

"Of course, father."

"Meeting adjourned." Fuguka slapped the file back on the desk, a pleased glint in his obsidian eyes.

The minute she had Sasuke alone, she pulled him into the break room. Blocking the door, she turned to face her ex-lover-co-worker, hands on her hips, legs at shoulder's width. "What is your problem?"

"_My_ problem?" Sasuke curled his lip in contempt. "I was not the one _drooling_ over His Highness for the last week."

Her head snapped back and she glared up at him. "This is getting tiresome, Uchiha. Gaara and I are _only_ acquaintances. I don't need you jealousy ruining what I've worked hard to get."

"But you want more, don't you?" He glared down at her when she didn't answer. "That's what I thought. You don't care about anything other than that; all you care about is getting what you want."

"T-that's not true!" she retorted, her stomach twisting into knots. Her heart was beating rapidly and she could see this was going downhill, fast. The Snowball effect. It just keeps rolling and rolling, getting bigger and bigger until it hits a tree and explodes in your face.

He crossed his arms over his white untucked button-up. "Oh please, Hinata. I've known for the past week that all you've thought about is Gaara. It was always Gaara this, Gaara that. I'm sick of hearing about Gaara. Can you please keep you mind off his dick and on your job?"

Her glossed mouth opened to protest but he was already out the door before she could say anything. Tears pricked the back of her eyes and she slumped into a chair at the table, her forehead resting against the cool surface. Why was this always happening? One minute, they'd be getting along just fine, and they next they were at each other's throat.

She sniffled but immediately pulled herself together when the door opened. Sakura's pink head popped around the corner and Hinata jumped up. They wrapped each other in a tight hug, squealing like high-school girls after summer's vacation.

Sakura held her at arm's length, her emerald eye sparkling. "Look at you Hinata-chan! You're all tan and look so much better! I love the burgundy crew top! It goes so well with the blue. And the boots are such a cute touch!"

They stared at each other for a moment before bursting into a fit of laughter. Neither cared much about their fashion, just so long as they were comfortable and looked nice enough. Of course, that was for the weekend and in the office, clothes mattered very much.

Sakura dropped her things into a chair across from Hinata's and smoothed down her pearly white satin button blouse. "So, did you hear?"

"Hear what?" Hinata stood and went for the coffee pot.

Sakura waved her hand. "Don't worry about it. But you have to hear this. Ino told me and I had to come and tell you."

"Then what is it?" Hinata leaned forward, wishing she had a chai latte to sip on and was at their table at the bistro, outside. Even though it was fall, and cold and crisp, she wanted a more comfortable place to gossip.

Sakura's glossy coral pink lips puckered up. "Let's hit Ayame's. I don't think you should hear this kind of news in the office. Can you get out for maybe thirty minutes?"

"I'm the boss," Hinata stood and smoothed down her top and wavy hair. "I can do what I please."

Sakura's bubbly laugh filled the room as she fluffed her chin-length bob. "So true!" She grabbed her things and they both giggle-rushed towards Hinata's office to get her things.

-

Ayame's was a two-story café, with a bistro's atmosphere. It was the most comfortable place to be and was also classy. Whenever you walked through the door, you got the feeling of being in the ninety-sixties. Or the American version of a gangster movie.

The red brick walls were a great comfort to Hinata as she and Sakura made their way inside to order. The low murmur of voices and the soft wafting smell of cinnamon coating her tongue was all she needed to forget Sasuke. Well, not for long since she realized she hadn't thought about him for the last twenty minutes.

Sakura talked the whole way to the register, just tidbits about what was going on with the clinic and how hanging out with Naruto was getting to be tedious. While Sakura could keep a conversation going by herself, Naruto could keep up several . . . hundred.

Hinata pulled her purple multicolored Gucci scarf tighter around her neck and tucked it down the front of her long black trench coat. Her eyes stared up at the menu above them as they waited in line, catching the occasional sentence from Sakura. It was nice to listen every once in a while to her friend. Especially since with Sakura, she was always making her laugh.

"How can I help you ladies today?" a young man of about eighteen smirked at them. Sakura made it blatantly clear she was dating by "answering" her phone and talking to her "boyfriend". Hinata laughed brightly and was startled by her own phone ringing.

Ordering their coffee (Sakura got the House Blend today) Hinata went for her purse and nearly screamed in joy. Hanabi sent a text saying that in a few hours, her plane was landing. And that they should gather up some friends and hit a club downtown.

"What is it?" Sakura leaned over the table, her pink bangs getting whipped by a bout of fall wind.

Hinata smiled behind her scarf, her cheeks pink with excitement and cold. "Hanabi's coming home. She says after she gets some rest, we should get together and go somewhere."

"Hanabi?" Sakura cocked her head, sipping on her hot coffee.

"She's my younger sister by five years. You'll like her," Hinata answered her question, giddy with her sister coming back. "She had gone to France for a few months to become an intern to a very exclusive designer. And now she's coming home, for good."

Sakura's eyes sparkled with mock envy. "Did I ever tell you how cool your family is, Hinata-chan? I swear, my family so boring, owning a "responsible" clinic for the last sixty years."

Hinata giggled, careful not to scald her tongue on her chai latte. "At least it's only sixty. Mine's been since forever!"

They burst into a new set of giggles before remembering why they had come to the café in the first place.

Sakura coughed into her red-leather-gloved hand. "Anyways, I have gossip and deserve some Cool Points."

Hinata giggled. "How much."

"Three-hundred should be good enough."

Hinata cocked her head, smiling. "Depends. Tell me what's up first."

Sakura leaned forward over her coffee, her own cheeks pink. Hinata noted that she looked pretty, with wisps of pink fluttering around her face in the fall wind. She looked like a model, with a toned body, not a trace of body fat to be seen.

Her emerald eyes were lined with black liner and charcoal gray eye shadow. Her lips were glossy with coral pink lip gloss. Her makeup was flawless. Hinata felt a little inferior to her friend. But at the same time, she felt a little secure. Like she knew that if guys were looking at Sakura, she could keep to herself and not have to deal with the whole heartbreak thing.

Especially since she screwed up the last relationship she had.

She leaned forward as well, her black-leather-gloved hands wrapped around her cup. They're knuckles touched and the gossip buzz zipped through both of them. Their traditional pose and after so long, Hinata was already waiting for the next time she could do it.

"So, you know Nara Shikamaru, right?" Sakura began.

Hinata nodded. "He's our lawyer. Neji introduced him to father and forever since, we've kept in contact. He's gotten us out of many situations that would have surely turned out bad if he wasn't there."

Sakura raised her eyebrows. "Really? And I thought the Hyuga company was all for the goodness of others."

"Well, it's now the Hyuga & Uchiha Co-Op. Nothing special about that, except that we have two COOs and really important people." Hinata sipped her latte but immediately put her hand back.

Sakura nodded. "Anyways, Ino hooked Shikamaru up with this one girl. I believe her name was Temari? Something that. But that was three years ago. So he took her out to dinner to this really exclusive restaurant and now they're engaged."

Hinata's eyes widened. "No!"

Sakura burst into laughter. "Yes! Ino was stumped! She didn't realize he was going to go for her so fast!"

"When's the wedding?" Hinata's legs bounced for warmth and from excitement as Sakura went on.

"It's gonna be soon. Like around November. Shikamaru's all for staying inside and Temari doesn't want to be a June bride."

They giggled and Hinata smiled warmly. "I can't believe it! Shikamaru's getting married. When I first met him, he seemed so laid back. You wouldn't think that he was such a genius."

Sakura nodded vigorously. "The thing is though, it's not gonna be fancy-smanchy, you know? He wants to keep it private. For a while now, the press has been on him since he won that case on the murder. Temari's kind of pissed that she can't invite more that one hundred people because of the place they picked. But they're throwing a reunion."

Hinata's head snapped back. "R-reunion?"

Sakura nodded. "Shikamaru's thinking of having some of his old high-school buddies back for the wedding."

"W-what high-school are we talking about here?" She flexed her fingers and blinked away the sting in her eyes.

Sakura leaned forward, her mouth in a gleeful smile. "Konoha Academy."

Hinata squealed with her.

-

Sasuke blinked, pulling his vibrating Palm Treo out of his pocket. A frown creased his brow as he leaned back against his shiny midnight blue Mazda Mazda6. Crisp fall wind whipped his bangs around his face and he read over the email on the screen of his phone.

It was Naruto, exclaiming that there was a big high-school reunion hosted by an old friend. Sasuke cocked his head and went down a little farther. Why would anyone want to hose a high-school reunion? What if nobody showed up?

He smirked at his twisted idea of humor.

Then it was slapped off his face as he stared at the electronic e-vite. Nara Shikamaru. One of the few geniuses at Konoha Academy. The same Academy he used to go to before moving away to Sound.

And on that e-vite was a list of people going. He groaned, shoving the phone back in his pocket. There was that one name he was seriously starting hate these days.

Subaku Gaara.

_Oh joy._

And yep, Gaara's coming back. Poor Sasuke. I'm just an evil little bitch ruining his world. Mwa ha ha ha ha!

Anyways, we all knew this was coming. Or did we?

No, you probably didn't. You were probably expecting them to get fruity on the way back, didn't you? For Hinata to remember that her one and only love is Sasuke! . . .

You do realize that I don't make things that easy, don't you?

Yeah, I know, this one came out faster than you expected. You was expecting maybe three, four more days right? Wrong! My Microsoft Word broke down before I put chappie 15 up, so I FIXED it. XDDD I couldn't fix shit before and now I know how to put Microsoft's ass in GEAR. Take that Bill Gates!

R&R Please and Thank You! X3 (just realized, Shino and Kiba haven't shown up in a while. I'ma fix that^.^)

* * *


	17. Sisters Back for France and Fiances

Honestly, she couldn't have possibly waited longer for this to happen. She wanted to so much to get away from all the drama of her life. For once, she wanted to be able to drown her woes in a bottle of champagne and possibly vodka. Sakura would be there to hold her hair out of her face when she threw up and there was always the possibility of meeting _him_ again.

Her heart thrashed about her in chest as she placed her redden cheeks in her hands, staring out the windows of her office. Gaara was going to be there for his sister's wedding. Meaning she had a whole four months to get to know him even better. A week wasn't enough. She needed more.

The mere mention of him was enough to have her high on (what she thought was) love. All day, she could float about the office; barely noticing the rest as the people as she went about her business. It wasn't every day she met a man who would treat her with respect and not think with his penis.

_Speaking of penises_, she thinned her lips at the door as Sasuke walked, head bowed as he read a folder. It was obvious he was ready to start something from the look on his face and today just wasn't the day. In a few weeks, she'd be going to a high-school-reunion-slash-engagement-party and he was going to be there as well. Wasn't he satisfied enough?

"Is there something I can help you with?" she said, lacing her fingers together on her desk and crossing her legs in her black tube skirt and gray wool tights. Her indigo hair was wound into a tight bun around a pair of black decorative chopsticks and her plum-colored cashmere cowl-neck was starting to itch.

Sasuke dropped the file on her desk, crossing his arms over his caramel-brown turtleneck, his obsidian eyes flat and emotionless. "I need you to copy this and send it to Subaku. He'll want to see that."

"What is it?" she asked, reaching for the file. But he gently slapped her fingers away, still emotionless as ever. "Don't touch it. Just do as I say and we won't have any problems."

She thinned her lips in frustration but nodded anyways, watching his retreating back. They had only been home two weeks and he was an even bigger jerk with a fading tan. Her pale eyes fell on the manila folder. And to top it off, he had secret business with Gaara.

_Her_ Gaara!

What could they _possibly_ be talking about anyways? Especially since he didn't want her to see it.

Her laser-treated teeth bit down on her full red lip and she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her air. The small diamond stud glinted in the gray light of the foggy fall evening and she pulled the file towards her. Whatever it was, it was her business too. He couldn't hide everything from her-

"What did I just say?" Sasuke leaned against the doorway, arms crossed as he stared her down from across the room.

She jumped about five feet in the air at his voice, her face exploding into the color of tomatoes when most ripe. Instinctively, she clutched the folder to her chest, taking deep breaths as she tried to calm herself.

"S-sasuke," she stammered angrily, standing up and walking towards him. "You h-have no right t-to walk into my o-office and o-order me a-around!"

He rolled his eyes and took the folder back. "Since you're too nosy about my business with your boy toy, I'll have Yuki do it." He turned his back to her as her mouth dropped open.

She crossed her arms, her cheeks hot. "D-don't say that! It's my business as much as yours, Uchiha-san."

He glanced over his shoulder at her, before snorting and walking away. "Please Hyuga. From day one, you made it perfectly clear I was going to have to become a very mean person so that I would fit in."

Her mouth flapped open for a good come back, but all she got out was, "You were already a mean person."

Her door closed and she huffed, flopping back onto her leather swivel chair. She should have realized a long time ago Uchiha Sasuke was nothing but bad news. With him, there was always something wrong, always something that needed to be perfected. Hell, not even she wasn't as perfectionist as he was.

Iris eyes look to the ceiling as she sighs again, her butt practically falling of the edge of the chair. What was it with everything these days? Before, when they weren't having an affair, everything was okay. Well, maybe not "okay" okay what with the fights, but that was normal for those days. Now there was nothing but tension and more arguments.

The door to her room busted open and she gasped, sitting up quickly. Hanabi broke into her bubbly laughter, her large black Dior butterfly sunglasses resting on top of her head, a black quilted Gucci tote dangling from the shoulder of her black leather Chanel trench coat.

"Hanabi!" Hinata jumped up and wrapped her younger sister in a hug. "How did you get in here?"

Hanabi smiled, her glossy red lips curving up in a knowing smile. "That hot Uchiha guy you were talking about made the guard let me in."

Hinata blinked. "Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Yeah, him," Hanabi brushed her silky Japanese-permed hair back over her shoulder with a French-manicured hand. "You can let go of me now."

Hinata dropped her arms, blushing happily. "I didn't think you came in today! What with your flight being cancelled and all."

She smiled, dropping her bag on the couch and undoing her jacket. "I was worried about that too! I heard about the reunion for pineapple-head and thought I had to get down here fast. But damn airports are never any good, you know?"

Hinata nodded, her mind transferring back to the week in Honolulu. Airports were all right in her book until that disastrous flight.

Hanabi slipped her coat off to reveal an art-deco looking flutter sleeve tunic dress that went past her knees. Her black ankle boots went surprisingly well with the dress. Hinata laughed as her sister paraded around the room in her stiletto heeled boots, one hand on her hip, the other swinging wildly beside her.

"I missed you," Hinata smiled as she sat on the couch, tucking her right ankle behind her leg. "You don't know how hard it is running a business with three of the worst men on earth breathing down your neck about every little thing."

Hanabi collapsed beside her, rubbing her sister's hand. "Ohhh, poor onee-san. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Hinata cocked her head playfully. "A backrub would be nice."

Hanabi wrinkled her dainty ski-slope nose and recoiled. "Um, I don't know about you, but that's what boyfriends are for."

Hinata giggled and stretched her legs out, fatigue suddenly enveloping her body. It was only five in the evening, not even a full day in her standards. But she felt the urge to go home and sleep. And possibly, never wake up.

-

"Hinata," Sakura's soft voice drifted into her senses and Hinata snapped up, only to slump down dizzily.

The sound of muffled giggling met her ears and she looked up to see her friends, Sakura, TenTen, Ino and another blonde with sea-foam green eyes and four spiky pigtails who she recognized as Temari surrounded her desk.

Wait.

Her _desk_? Not her large queen-sized four-poster cherry wood bed with the soft iris sheets and duvet set?

She sat up quickly, wiping drool from the side of her mouth. "Did I . . . did I fall asleep at my desk?"

Hanabi giggled, nodding. "Sure did. Never have I seen that happen before. I'm so glad I got a picture!"

The girls broke into loud laughter as Hinata's face turned the shade of ripe tomatoes. "Hanabi! Please say you didn't!"

* * *

Hanabi is back! Temari is involved! Sasuke's got secrets with Gaara! Oooooooooh, that _DRAMA! _

So yeah, I bet you're all wondering, what's gonna happen next . . .

. . . .

I have no clue. Yall gonna have to wait a week on this one, maybe a little less XDDD (No worries! I'm working on it!)


	18. Scotch And the Stars

Temari held a sparkly strappy cocktail up, staring at the sequins. "What do _you_ think?"

Ino rolled her shoulders back in her sky-blue sleeveless high-neck top. "I like it. It brings out the blue in your eyes."

TenTen looked up from staring at the floor-kissing hem of her jade green sleeveless dress. "It's nice. But isn't it a little short?"

Temari pursed her glossed lips, cocking her head slightly. "Nah. It's just a few inches past my knees. It would be too short for _Hinata_."

Sakura and Hanabi giggled as Hinata blushed, pulling down the hem of her black V-neck empire waist dress with three-quarter length sleeves. "S-so? I just don't like to show too much skin." She tugged up the sharp incline of her neck-line. "I feel as if everyone is staring at my chest instead of my eyes."

Ino swatted her hand away, sliding the shoulder of her dress down. "Oh please Hinata-kun. You're _way_ too pretty to be hiding your gorgeous shoulders. I'd kill for your shoulders and hour-glass figure."

Hanabi poked Ino in her rib, one hand on the hip of her mustard-colored long-sleeved trench-dress. "I think you'd kill yourself too."

Temari snorted in laughter and high-fived the younger girl. "Nice one!"

Sakura shook her head, leafing through a rack of bright floral sundresses. "You guys are so mean."

Ino stomped her silver sequined mules. "Jerks! I should tell your father!"

Hanabi slapped her hands to her cheeks, looking mock-horrified. "Oh, dear God, save me! My father is gonna scold me! _No_!" She and Temari broke into more snorting laughter.

Hinata poked her head out burgundy curtain, her cheeks slightly pink. "You shouldn't pick on father, Hanabi. He's just looking out for us."

Hanabi waved her manicured hand in the air. "Oh _puh-lease_, onee-san. You said that when you were seventeen and you're saying it when you're twenty-seven. A _decade_ of covering that cold, pruny prick."

Sakura tossed a turquoise long-sleeve mini dress over her shoulder. "I can believe it."

Ino pulled the dress off her shoulder and tossed it in the growing pile of rejected dresses. "Me too. I just can't see Hinata cursing and stomping around the office if something seriously bad came her way." She placed her hands on her hips, her eyes roaming the racks of designer dresses. "Sasuke though, is another story."

Hinata giggled and Sakura rolled her eyes, holding up a dove-colored tea-length dress. "With you, it's always Sasuke. Anything that is even _remotely_ related to Sasuke, you know about."

Ino flicked her platinum blond ponytail over her shoulder, sauntering away. "Well, I do own the country's best gossip magazine. I need to know every little thing there is to know. It's my duty to my readers and subscribers."

Hanabi cocked an eyebrow, now dressed in a figure-hugging sleeveless red dress with a large black belt sitting under her bust and black leggings with red suede ankle boots. "I thought you owned Yamanka flower shops."

Ino shot her a look. "I do. Got a problem?"

Temari picked up a pair of shiny silver-buckled pumps. "Well, isn't that weird? I mean, you own a flower shop and then you own a gossip magazine. Why both?"

Ino crossed her arms indigently. "So? Can't I have a love for fashion and flowers? They're both beautiful things. And they make people beautiful, so I decided I could have both."

Hinata giggled, stepping out in a black V-neck top with three-quarter length sleeves and a purple tiered peasant skirt with black ankle-strap pumps. "I don't mind. Your magazines are fun to read, Ino-chan."

"Thank you, Hinata-kun," Ino pulled a silver sequined miniskirt off a rack with a sleeveless dove-colored cashmere cowl-neck and eyeing Hanabi. "Is that what you're seriously gonna wear?"

Hanabi raised an eyebrow, still in the red dress but new black leather leggings. "So? The better they can see me, the better time they have. I was meant to start trends. Not follow them." She zipped up her suede boots and tapped the toes on the carpeted floors.

Hinata giggles and reached into her purse. "I like it. It's very Hanabi. I can't wait for you new line to come out."

Temari eyed Hanabi as Sakura came out in a tight cerise halter dress that barely grazed her thighs. "You're coming out with a fashion line?"

Sakura tightened the strap on her black sling-backs. "Yeah, you didn't know? It's only been the talk of everyone's conversation. Whenever Hyuga do something, it's always news worthy."

Ino giggled, sitting comfortably on the crescent-shaped sofa in their private dressing room. "I already got dibs on the real story. With this, my magazine will get major raves."

Hanabi smirked at Ino. "My first line will be just for father. A gorgeous line of tailored suits for men and women." She walked up behind Hinata's bench and placed her hands on her sister's shoulders. "I've already made a few for Hinata, who will hopefully accompany me down the aisle of my first fashion show."

Sakura raised her eyebrows. "Really? I'd sure like to get a look at those suits. I've been meaning to get out and buy some more clothes."

Temari ran her hands over her cocktail dress, watching them in the mirror. "I'd like to see what she's making period. If they're anything like you dress, I'm sure they'll be just fine."

"_Just_ fine?" Hanabi placed a hand on her chest, looking horrified. "_Just fine_, Temari-san? _Just fine_ does _not_ cut it. My ideals are better than the slackers of this day and age. Soon, they'll be yester-season!"

Hinata giggled then blinked, looking around. "Where's TenTen-chan?"

"Here-oomph!"

They twisted around to see her falling towards the floor in a dress with a mauve corset-looking top and leg-hugging skirt. She sighed as the girls laughed around her, Hinata worriedly helping her up. "I thought it looked better on the mannequin."

Hanabi brought a hand to her glossed mouth. "I'm sorry, girl. I'd hate to break it to you, but everything looks better on the mannequin. And some times, it should stay on the mannequin!"

-

Sasuke exhaled, smoking lifting in the cold fall air. He crossed his arms and starred out from the balcony of his condo. It was a perfect fall night, with the street lights below glowing like embers. The soft sound of cars drifted to his ears and the corner of his full lips quirked up in half smile.

Normally, he didn't get to enjoy this, since whenever he was home, it was to shower, sleep, eat and then shower again. There was the house keeper, but she wasn't really worth looking at.

He inhaled from his cigarette, watching Tokyo below him. There really hadn't been time for him to just sit back and relax. In fact, since the month he had been back home, he hadn't really been "home". He was constantly running between Naruto's (he didn't know why, but he just crashed there whenever he needed to) and his office.

He ran a hand through his hair and paid no attention to his ringing telephone. The cool crisp fall air was comforting and a phone call from the office was just going to bug the hell out of him as of the moment.

"Pick up, Uchiha. I know you're there." Gaara's voice hit his ears and he scowled.

He stood from his deck chair and dropped the cigarette to the ground. He grinded it out with the toe of his dress shoes and ducked inside. Some times, you just couldn't escape your work.

-

"Oh god!" Hanabi snorted, looking to Ino, who was laughing just as hard. "Are you serious?!"

Hinata giggled into tumbler of scotch, leaning against TenTen, who was refilling Temari's tumbler. "That's very wicked, Ino."

Temari toasted her. "Oh man, you gotta teach me that!"

TenTen shook her head, then shook the almost empty bottle of scotch. "Hey, I think we're running out."

"Don't worry!" Ino said brightly, crawling across Sakura, who was lying on the floor, convulsing with giggles. "I brought like six bottles."

Hinata took a tiny sip of her scotch and indulged in the burning feeling going down her throat. "Normally, I wouldn't be this drunk."

Hanabi pointed to her, her cheeks tinged pink like the rest. "If you can tell you're drunk then you ain't. Trust me on this."

Sakura sat up and chugged the rest of her drink, closing her emerald eyes at the burning. "I don't think I've ever laughed so hard."

TenTen kicked off her mules. "Me either." Her head lolled onto Hinata's shoulder. "Have you, Hinata-kun?"

Hinata giggled, shaking her head and pouring herself another glass. "No. but it's nice."

Temari pulled the shoji doors open and all five stared out into the dark night. "Shikamaru likes looking up at the sky, no matter if there are clouds or stars."

Ino added more lemon juice to Sakura's drink, her sky-blue eyes glazed with memories and scotch. "I know. I remember we went on a camping trip and the whole night, he was just staring at the stars."

Hinata crawled over to the doors, leaving TenTen to fall to the ground. "I like the stars. They're kind of just sitting there, minding their own business, you know? They don't have to worry about anything, just staying bright enough for us to see them."

TenTen propped herself up on her elbows. "That's _deep_."

Sakura broke into more giggles and leaned on Ino to hold herself up. "_So_ true!"

Hanabi leaned forward on the table, her elbows resting on the table and her cheeks in her hands. "She means that the stars are just like us. Only different, you know? Am I right?"

Hinata nodded and looked back to the sky, holding her tumbler. "It's kind of like; they don't have to worry about bad rumors. They don't have to deal with the economy. They don't have to worry about their father's kicking them out of their will because of one misstep. They . . . just . . . don't . . . have . . . to . . . worry."

Temari leaned against the shoji door. "Sounds nice."

All five nodded. "Mmm-hmm."

* * *

The only kind of alcohol I've had was from my dad's beer can, his champagne and his white wine. And I can say this, don't _ever_ try that shit. I was washing my mouth out for days after those sips.

Anyways, did you like this chapter? I know I did! :3 Keep reading my faithful readers! (And I still don't know what business is going on between Gaara and Sasuke, but it's important, okay?)

Ja Ne! :D R&R Please and Thank You!


	19. Sobbing Over Sushi

"What are you doing?" Hanabi watched in amusement as Hinata's head snapped up from her previous engagement.

"Oh, Hanabi," Hinata breathed out, placing a manicured hand on her chest. "It's only you." She turned back to the Swiffer mop in her hand, shuffling along the floors of her townhouse. "I was just doing a little cleaning, that's all."

Hanabi raised a plucked eyebrow at her, slipping off her mustard yellow trench coat to reveal a light gray hooded sweater dress with a red patent leather belt hanging loosely on her hips and red cotton leggings with Uggs. "Uh-huh."

Hinata tugged on her overgrown bangs, dressed simply in a loose white t-shirt and blue short shorts with her blue house slippers. "It's gotten messy . . . actually, it's been messy for a while, but I haven't had the time to really pick it all up. I sort of just threw it somewhere and forget about him- er it!"

Her cheeks turned crimson as Hanabi's pale eyes widen in amazement. "Who's _him_, onee-san?" She flopped down on her sister's sofa, kicking off her gray to-the-knee Uggs. "You can tell me. Your secret is safe with me."

Hinata bit her lip, fidgeting with her loose bun. "Ano . . . I don't know."

"Onee-san!" Hanabi whined, making puppy eyes at her. "Just tell me. I won't tell anyone, I swear!"

Hinata shook her head, pushing her mop back and forth over the already mopped bamboo floors. "You shouldn't swear. But it's . . . really private . . . And it could ruin me if even _one_ word gets out . . . You have to be _extremely_ careful for me." She hardened her eyes and thinned her lips, catching Hanabi off guard. "You can't tell a _soul_, Hanabi, _not a soul_."

Hanabi held up her hand, nodding gravely. "I understand, Hinata. I won't tell a single soul outside of this place."

Hinata sighed before smiling softly. "Thank you for understanding."

Hanabi smiled back. "I know you are. Now spill."

-

"No way!" Hanabi slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide with shock. "No. Fucking. Way!"

Hinata blushed furiously, fidgeting with her hands. "Please don't say that, Hanabi. I know it's bad. I understand that. But you have to understand, it was only building momentum from the start."

Hanabi fell back on the sofa, pulling a gold throw pillow over her face. "Omigod! Omigod! Omigod! No fucking way! _NO FUCKING WAY_!!!!"

Hinata smiled as Hanabi kicked her legs in the air and screamed into the pillow. Why shouldn't she? Her sister had had a very intimate relationship with one of the most eligible bachelors in Tokyo. Quite possibly in Japan even. But notice the key word "had". That's all it really took to know she wasn't in it anymore. But she'd still be put in the spotlight for having it in the first place. Office relationships just weren't meant to be.

She kicked her slippers off under the low sitting table and pulled her knees to her chest. She had liked to believe she loved him in only that month, but that was just stupid. You can't get to know someone then fall in love with them in only a month. It wasn't logical.

Or, that's what she was telling herself these days.

But if that was true, did that mean she didn't love Gaara, like she thought she did? Was it just her imagination when she thought they had a special connection that she and Sasuke didn't? Did she just believe he liked her just as much as she liked him?

She closed her iris-colored eyes and sighed into her creamy knees. Life was so much easier when she just was fighting with Sasuke over stupid memos and her father and his stupid partner-in-crime wasn't up her ass and down her back about taking the company global. Russia was just barely on the border of overdoing it with their contract and Italy was all too eager to swoop down and take it from them. She didn't need a fucking love life right now.

Too bad she wanted one anyways.

"Hey ya'll!" Temari's blond head popped around the corner, her sea-foam green eyes sparkling as Hinata nearly fell to the floor in her astonishment. She held aloft a grocery bag, swinging it excitedly. "I brought sushi!" She quickly ducked around the corner as Hanabi jumped up and ran after her.

Hinata quickly untangled herself from the table and ran after them. "Temari-san! What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be at a fitting for your wedding dress!"

Temari nodded, wrapping her in a tight hug. "I was _supposed_ to be! But they canceled on me because some other quick-to-bitch mother-in-law was getting pissy about her soon-to-be-daughter's dress and how the damn pearls were falling off. So, Hinata-kun, how was your day?"

"I have a secret to tell you!" Hanabi grabbed her newest friend's navy off-the-shoulder sweater sleeve. "It's about my dear older sister! And her dirty, dirty secrets!"

Temari gasped dramatically, her eyes wide with shock and amusement. "No way! Ms. Perfect has skeletons in the closet! Spill!"

"No!" Hinata blushed as she tried to stop Hanabi from telling. "Please, Hanabi! You said you wouldn't tell!"

"No," Hanabi shook her head, smirking victoriously as tugged Temari towards the living room. "I said I wouldn't tell anybody _outside of this place_. As in your house."

Hinata brought a hand to her face, realizing the loophole her sister was always creating a minute too late. "Fine. Tell her. But do not make it sound as if-,"

"Hi guys!" TenTen and Sakura came through the front door. TenTen unwrapped her brown-stripped scarf, looking to the three girls. "What's going on? I didn't know everyone was meeting here today."

"Hinata has a dirty, dirty secret!" Temari bounced on her toes excitedly as Hinata's face paled. "Hanabi was just about to spill some major news worth lots of Cool Points!"

Sakura's jade eyes went to Hinata as TenTen and Temari squealed in the background. "Are you okay?" She pressed a hand to Hinata's forehead, her eyes turning army green with worry. "You don't look so good, Hinata-kun. You feeling okay?"

Hinata nodded, shuffling after Temari and the others. "I'm fine, Sakura-chan. Just don't hate me afterward."

"Why would I hate you?" Sakura tugged off her white ski jacket and turned to follow an excited Hanabi to the living room.

-

Stunned silence.

Hinata twirled a loose thread from her t-shirt around her index finger, a curtain of her indigo hair protecting her face. The other girls were so shocked their sushi fell from the chopsticks and landed with a plop in their sauces. No one was even breathing loudly. The shock of things was just too great.

Temari was the first to recover, coughing lightly into her hand and placing her chopsticks down. "May I just say this? No . . . _fucking_ . . . way."

TenTen laughed brightly, almost as if she were relieved it wasn't something else, a hand on the chest of her magenta turtleneck. "I can't believe it either! There's no way Hinata could have fallen for jerkface Sasuke!" She shook her head. "And Ino missed it!"

"Missed what?" Ino dropped down beside Temari in a turquoise sweater dress with white slacks and pulled the extra sushi case towards herself, looking to the other girls. "Come on! Own up! What the hell did I miss?"

Hanabi reached across and excitedly whispered in her ear. Both erupted in a chorus of "no way" and "seriously". Sakura shook her head, tugging her pink ponytail tighter and tighter. After a moment, all four were squealing the same thing, laughing and carrying on. Finally, all four girls looked up to see Hinata's shoulders rising in quick breaths, as if she were crying.

"Onee-san?" Hanabi bit her lip, feeling somewhat guilty. "Are you . . . Are you okay? Was I not supposed to tell anyone, like no one at all?"

Sakura rubbed Hinata's back in slow soothing circles, looking sorry. "We didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Hinata-kun. We're sorry."

"Yeah," TenTen pushed her plate of sushi away, guilt over taking her appetite. "Do you prefer we don't talk about it all?"

All four of them leaned in to hear Hinata, each looking guiltier than the last.

"No," Hinata sniffled, tears streaming down her flushed cheeks. "No. That's not the problem."

"Then what is it?" Temari asked in a soft voice, reaching across and patting her hand like Ino was. "Can you tell us? Because I hate feeling guilty."

"Temari!" TenTen giggled out of anxiety rather than the funny factor. But it died down after about two seconds of no one else joining.

"It's just that," Hinata closed her head and rested her head on the table, muffling her words.

Sakura's eyes widened and the girls looked to her in confusion.

"She misses him."

* * *

Holy Crap! There's a twist for you! XDD Yeah, I know, this chapter was kind of sucky (I think it went by a little fast. And there wasn't nearly enough information to really keep it interesting long enough)

So, like I was saying, it's gettin' there! You gotta give me at least 3 more chapters and you'll have to go and find something else to read, because I'm about to end this baby.

Actually, I'm quite surprised with myself. This thing is nearly 20 (quite possibly 23 with the way I'm going) chapters long and I've never written something past 15 chapters! I'm so immensely amazed with myself, I think all my ideas are being sucked out of my damn head!

I will warn you, after this story, I will be working on Harmony. Net (if you haven't read the first chapter, you should) and Those Sweet Moments (These are all AU. I'm trying to think of things that _aren't_ AU. It's gettin' _real_ old, _real_ fast)

R&R Please and Thank You! :3


	20. Relapse on Silk Taupe Sheets

Hinata stared into the thick, swirling crowd and turned around. Her body shook with fear at the mere sight of all those skimpily clad bodies pressed together in that . . . _monstrosity_ called a group of friends. She didn't think the whole high school was coming, but then again, this was a _high school reunion_. Anyone that had been part of her graduating year was bound to be here. _Every single one of them._

She placed a trembling hand to her chest, closing her eyes and trying deep yogic breathing exercises. In through the nose and out through the mouth. Deep and full breaths. Her heart slowed down a bit. All this was was a conference. A big, comfy conference of friendly faces and old companions getting together to review over their successful years.

There, that was a little better. Opening her smoky-treated eyes, she smoothed out her glittery blue-green sleeveless scoop-neck minidress. Yes, that's right, _mini_dress. It was Hanabi's idea, and black solid tights were in this fall anyways, so she was good. Now, she was standing the giant foyer of Temari's house, trying to calm herself down.

She looked to her black Marc Jacob three-and-half-inch Mary Janes and sighed. It was now or never. She fluffed her hair, hopping the soft ringlets her stylist had put in looked alright. It softened her sharp cheekbones and gave her face this radiance worthy of even the Queen of England. Her full lips were glossed in soft pink that tasted of strawberry and a little blush had gone a long way.

A trembling hand reached up and wrapped around her gold charm bracelet, the sharp ends of her charms poking into her sweaty palm. Her opal eyes scanned the crowed before she took a deep breath and steadily made her way inside. It was now or never. Now or never she'd get to see Gaara again, because after four months, he'd be gone and she hated to see him go.

The reaction to her appearance was instantaneous. Everyone's head surged to see her sauntering (think Hanabi! think Hanabi!) by. A teenager in a French maid's outfit held out her tray and Hinata politely thanked her for the champagne flute and was on her merry way. Almost instantly, people surrounded her, air-kissing her cheeks and saying hello after years of seperation.

She felt a little overwhelmed. But that was fine. She needed to grip the situation and reign it in. After a while, she was on a roll, kissing cheeks, laughing at inside jokes from long ago and catching up on friends. Well, acquaintances. She hadn't been extremely popular in school, but she had some friends outside of the "Rookie Nine" as they were called.

Finally, the crowd calmed down and everyone was back to their groups, talking and laughing, waving at known faces and just generally enjoying themselves. Hinata glanced around, seeing the general theme of the reunion. It was black tie optional. Meaning go fancy, but not too fancy. Some went over the moon in bright red no-back halter dresses with trains. Hinata tried hard not to scrunch her delicate ski-slope nose at them. That was uncongenial, as she saw it. A train was _definitely_ unnecessary.

"Hinata." Two fingers tapped her shoulder and she twisted around to see Shino. Her face practically split in two as she threw herself in his arms, careful of their champagne.

"I haven't seen you in so long!" She laughed, the butterflies in her stomach dispersing. If Shino was here, Kiba was not far behind.

He chuckled, patting her back. "Yes, it has been awhile. I was in Africa for a few weeks. Very interesting but also very hot."

She eyed his tanned face. "You are so lucky. Wish I could just get up and go to exotic places."

He smiled faintly. "It's my job to go around the world."

Kiba popped up, wrapping Hinata in a hug and saying to Shino, "Whatever! You claim it's your job but it's really because all the women down there are hot as hell!"

Hinata's cheeks turned bright pink as Shino shot Kiba a glare over his glasses. "That was highly unnecessary Kiba. Hinata is standing right there."

"Where?" Kiba squinted his eyes and shaded his eyes as if looking for her. He promptly got a smack to the head.

Hinata burst into giggles and hid them behind her champagne flute as Kiba glared teary-eyed at Shino. "What for?!"

"For being incompetent." Shino raised an eyebrow as Kiba's eyes registered confusion, even though he was still scowling. "I'm not going to say."

"Well, you're insufferable." Kiba crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out, Hinata giggling beside Shino. "Yeah, see, I know big words too."

"Aburame Shino! Is that you?" Someone shouted and Kiba smirked as Shino turned to see a woman with dark brown hair in soft curls and deep ocean-blue eyes saunter up. "What's this? Shino's got himself an old girlfriend?"

He cursed under his breath as he held his head, from Shino's swift slap, squatting down to his knees. Hinata burst into laughter as Shino went to meet the woman in the crowd. Suddenly, a hand wrapped around her arm and she gasped. Swiveling her head around, she turned to face Sasuke, who seemed unfazed by all his old fan girls falling hard for him _again_.

She tried to ease her arm out of his vice-like grasp. "Um, may I help you, Sasuke?"

He whisked her away, maneuvering her through the thick crowd of the ballroom. "We have business to finish."

"What?" she squeaked, looking to him, the slight breeze ruffling her bangs. "I thought we finished everything! Is it Russia? Or maybe Hong Kong?"

He grunted something, but she couldn't catch it, because of the chorus of "Hi Sasuke-kun" coming at them. She felt slightly sick. Tonight she was supposed to look like the fun-loving type. Someone who Gaara could be interested in. Not being whisked out of the place because she had paperwork to finish up and Hiashi wanted to her to.

And that's all it took for her to get angry. She roughly snatched her arm out of Sasuke's, who turned to her with a raised eyebrow. She smoothed down her glittery dress and fluffed her bangs before looking him right in the eye. She wanted everything to go without a hitch tonight. And if that meant she had to blow Hiashi off, then so be it.

"I'm sorry Sasuke," she began, her voice devoid of emotion. "But I'm going to stay here. We can finish up on Monday."

He crossed his arms, his icy demeanor filling up the space between them. "Unfortunately, Hinata, you don't have a choice. We have to finish up here very quickly, and then we may join back in the festives."

She narrowed her eyes. "Why here? What's here that we have to finish up?"

He snatched her arm back and they were making their way through the crowed again. "Subaku."

Her heart rate sped up. The butterflies in her stomach returned. She felt tongue-tied. Gaara was here! And she had business to conduct with him! Things were turning out better than she thought. The minute Sasuke left them; she had Gaara all to herself.

She snatched her arm back and began speed-walking with Sasuke, speaking calmly despite the sudden adrenaline rush, "I can walk just fine on my own, thank you."

This was her chance to finally have Gaara to herself. Her heart raced. God, she was sounding more and more selfish everyday.

_Note to self: loosen up a bit. Have Ayame order a spa day._

-

"Uchiha," Gaara gave a slight nod to Sasuke before turning to Hinata. "Hyuga."

Hinata blushed and hoped that in the dim lighting of the drawing room, it would pass of as blush. Gaara had always been polite, even in Honolulu, when they had (or she thought) they had gotten to know each other. Her heart raced as she bowed with Sasuke, both mumbling with their greetings.

They sat down at the round, glass table, Gaara looking just as at ease as if this were his place. It occurred to Hinata that this grand mansion might be his home when he was in Japan for whatever reasons. She smiled to herself. This would be the place where she too would soon be staying at.

Sasuke leveled her with a swift poke to the kidney. She bit down on her lip and shot him a nasty glare before flipping open the manila folder set in front of them. Gaara reached into his jacket (like _into_ into, not into his pocket) and pulled out a Mont Blanc pen.

She took it from him with a gracious smile and skimmed over the documents. Her brow furrowed in confusion. There was something wrong. She could tell. These terms weren't written like this. And the deal had been changed by a slight bit. And there was much more going on than she had clearly seen.

Something went click in her mind and she snapped up, glaring at Sasuke. "Are you serious?"

His level gaze was ice cold, like a bucket of ice water on her head. "Very. Now sign. We've discussed everything already Hinata. We just need your consent."

She shook the folder. "This is not what we agreed upon, Sasuke! What happened to _my_ opinion! My _effort_ on this! My _right_ to be _involved_ in _our_ business! You're cheating Subaku-san out of his right!"

She could tell he wanted to roll his eyes as he spoke in a level voice. "Calm yourself, Hinata. Subaku and I have discussed everything before hand. We just did not want you to interfere."

She sucked in a breath, her head snapping back. Gaara didn't want her to join in with their deal? Her stomach twisted into a horrid knot as she looked to Gaara. He didn't deny it, instead nodding his head. His serious face reveled nothing, and she was absolutely sure that was how he felt. She could read through Hiashi's legendary face. She could surely read this twenty-seven-year-old's emotion.

She blinked and in an instant, she clamped a lid on her feelings. That was all she needed. It was obvious Gaara wanted nothing but a business relationship. And what had she not learned from Sasuke? Office relationships never got far anyways.

Clicking the pen, she flipped to the last page, where she had to sign, pressing her lips together. "Oh. I see."

"I hope you can understand," Gaara explained, but she didn't look up, instead opting to focus only on her neat handwriting. She couldn't bear to hear what he had to say, because it became twisted in her mind. The tears building in her eyes were sure to fall the minute she looked at him.

Just as soon as everything started, it was finished. She stood up and took a deep breath, reaching across to Gaara for a quick handshake. Excusing herself, she steadily made her way out of the room and out into the hallway. The faint noise of the party carrying on without her reached her pierced ears. And that's all it took for the tears.

She ducked into a bathroom and closed the door with a soft click. Glancing in the mirror, she stared at her flushed cheeks and running mascara. Hanabi had once said water-proof mascara could only do so much.

She sniffed and gently dabbed her face. It was looking a little better, but not much. But she had to remain composed. If anyone caught her crying tonight, it would only show up in the gossip magazines halfway across the world tomorrow. For the last few years she had been with her father's company, she had done nothing but show her tough, yet gentle side. They had yet to experience a crying Hyuga, and she wasn't about to deface them tonight.

After a good twenty minutes of composure, she allowed herself the privilege of leaving the bathroom. She nearly swallowed her tongue slamming into Sasuke's broad chest. He took her shoulders to keep her from stumbling, but she only slapped them away in a burst of anger. How dare he touch her! Couldn't he see this was his fault?!

She thinned her lips before giving him the brunt of her anger in a glare, speaking icily. "Yes, Sasuke?"

He looked down at her, his eyes as black as a lake at night forcing her to look back. "What crawled up your ass?"

She scowled and turned on the heel of her Mary Janes, holding back tears of self-pity and screams of frustration. "Nothing. May we please get back to the party? I'd like to catch up on some old-," She blinked as he pulled her back and kissed her.

The familiar warmth spread through her body, filling her with that familiar feeling. Her heart raced. She could feel the lust spreading through her veins. For a dear second, she remembered how everything was. It all was she needed to relapse.

And relapse she did.

-

Hanabi smirked, turning towards Gaara. "You are good!"

He chuckled as she patted his chest pocket. "Thank you. I didn't really have to do anything."

Hanabi clapped her hands gleefully and bounced on the toes of her black short boots (she changed her mind on the suede), barely concentrating on his words from the sounds escaping from her sister not ten meters away. "She's gonna hate me for this, but whatever! At least I'll get to be related to the Uchiha. I can't wait for their babies."

Gaara chuckled again before Hanabi tugged on his dark blue designer sports jacket. "We better get out of here. I don't want to be here when they get too active, you know?"

They shuffled down the hallway, half wanting to fall back and keep watching and half wanting to giggle over their deviousness.

-

Maybe it was the circumstance, that's why she relapsed. Because Gaara had blatantly rejected her, she needed something to make her feel better. That this feeling blossoming in the bottom of her stomach _wasn't_ love.

Sasuke's fingers brushed along her skin and she pressed her lips harder to his. She tried to deny anything to do with love, just enjoy the experience, while it lasted. Surely, it wouldn't get farther than a month again. And soon, they'd be fighting harder and she'd be sobbing louder, because the second time always hurt the most, despite what people say.

Her breathing gets faster, her skin tingling with old passion. She's taking this way to seriously. Sasuke wants nothing more than to fuck her silly, then quite possibly leave. And they're in _someone else's_ room. They'll get caught, she's sure of it. It's bound to happen in _someone else's_ house.

His mouth latches onto her nipple and she moans, arching her back. They shouldn't be doing this. It's wrong. Hiashi would fire them on the spot. Another moan leaves her lips and she tries to control the pants and gasps and groans leaving her, but resistance is futile.

Her legs squeeze his hips, mostly like to stop herself, but it only encourages him. His mouth moves down her stomach, pushing her closer to a complete and total relapse. She bits down on her lip, her hands resting on his shoulder, about to push him away, but she can't. She knows she's a sad excuse of a protester, but it's too good.

"Sasuke," she moans, but the protest dies on her lips as she feels his fingers slid up her stomach as his mouth goes lower. A loud moan, much too loud for the door on the other end of the room, escapes her before it becomes straight screaming. Her back arches, she's barely sucking in enough air before another scream leaves her.

The orgasm hits her full blast and she collapses back to the bed. Her sweat is most likely ruining the silk sheets underneath them. Her skin feels flushed and sweaty. Her eyes are feeling heavy. But she knows he wants more.

Should she give him more?

His easily slips between her legs and she lets him. Her eyes close, anticipating the next move. His mouth lands on her nipple again, and she shivers against him, thrusting her hips along his length. This is it. She was officially addicted to this drug all over again.

He slowly dragged a scream out of her, smirking like he was the best. And she knew the truth. He was much better than he let on to be. God, did she know the truth.

Her manicured nails ran lightly over his bare back as she arched her back, crying out. Everything from their delicious month together flooded back. Everything she had asked for then had come back. But she quickly pushed those away. It was stupid of her to think that this was love. It was lust. Nothing more. After this quickie (could this be considered a quickie?) she had to get back to the party and enjoy herself.

He thrust into her and she let out another cry. Was it wrong to do this even though she didn't believe in it? He wrapped his arms around her, thrusting into her again and again and again. She let this one totally envelope her. She didn't want to think. Just do, just do. That could become her motto.

This orgasm was even better. She let out one more scream, indulging in this warm, complete feeling. This feeling of completely letting go. It was delicious. Addictive. And she was sure he was the only who could do this to her. And the sad truth, she was most likely right.

He held her like a porcelain doll, her head resting against his chest. If the taupe silk sheets weren't ruined then, they were certainly ruined now. She was sure of it. But that was fine. In this glazed I-just-did-it state, she didn't much care. She just wanted to close her eyes and most likely sleep till the wee hours. But there was a party to be handled.

She closed her eyes anyways, nestling closer to Sasuke.

-

TenTen pressed her palms to a very upset Neji's Gucci suit jacket, her warm chocolate-brown eyes warning him. "Let 'em be. The way Hinata was screaming, I don't think they'll be out for a while."

Sakura shook her head as Naruto snickered, the others grouped in front of the glossy walnut door. "I can't believe you just said that. I can't believe we actually listened to them. This is a certain invasion of privacy."

"Relax," Temari laughed, her sea-foam green eyes sparkling. "It was only the last few minutes. I'm sure they're sleeping by now." She laughed louder as Shikamaru shook his head, shoving his hands into his pockets.

The door cracked open and Sasuke's obsidian eyes glared out at them, flashing the slightest crimson, a special gift of his. "I'm going to murder you _all_ in your sleep."

The scrambled out of the hallway, giggling and snickering to themselves (save for Neji, Shino, Gaara and Shikamaru, who believed they all had better things to do than listen to Uchiha do Hyuga.)

* * *

No! This isn't the last chapter! I'm going to stretch it out a little. Give you some time to get used to the fact that, soon, it'll all be over XD I'm a brutal bitch. But who cares?! You love me!

You really, really love me XD

I hope you enjoyed! Keep waiting for Chapter 21! w00t! Chapter 21! Praise me XD :3

(Oh, and you'll get to meet Shino's friend too X3 I have chosen the name . . . You'll have to find out!)

BTW: This is the longest story I have ever written! Not joking! I barely get past chapter 15 before it's over! AND this is also the longest chapter I've typed on comp! Not joking! Over 3,000 words!

I'm bragging, I know, but I just needed to share that :3


	21. On Those Crisp December Evenings

Hinata stared at the copier, barely focusing on the files she was supposed to be dealing with. Her mind was on the number circled on her calendar on her desk, in her office, at her house, on her Blackberry Storm (an earlier gift from Hanabi). Her birthday, smack dab in the middle of December. Just when everything was cold and crisp tasting, when the trees were bare and couples were nestling down each other's arms at night, feeding off each other's warmth.

And at that, she remembered that she and Sasuke had been dating for exactly three and a half weeks. That was probably worth celebrating, but really, it was just a term. They were "seeing" each other before. Now they were officially "dating". What dating really meant was after hours, they'd go to some fancy, smanchy restaurant and eat, then flirt, then kiss, then cuddle with each other at Sasuke's place.

No sex, no during hours play, no anything. Just a regular, normal, official, non-affair like relationship. And she had to admit, even though the other was more exciting, she could definitely see this one going somewhere. Slowly, a smile fell on her lips. She definitely liked where this one was going. Much better than the other "relationship".

Hiashi and Fuguka, to say the least, had been furious. They were totally against their relationship, and were even more against it when Sasuke calmly told them that four months ago; they had been having an affair. Hiashi looked ready to shut down and quite possibly cry in a corner from anger and frustration and Fuguka look ready to explode all over the most comfortable space, which was the upstairs, which was also where Fuguka and Hiashi resided most of the day.

Then Itachi and Neji were betting on the date of when they first began having sex and this time, Neji actually won. Hinata of course, threatened to reduce his salary and make sure TenTen never looked his away again, so the twenty dollars was given back effective immediately. If she didn't know how to threaten properly back then, she knew how to now. Sasuke wasn't just a hot hunk; he was an _intelligent_ hot hunk.

Speaking of relationships, there was Temari and Shikamaru's wedding. Which was going very smoothly by the way. Hanabi had decided the blond was officially her favorite person and was, at this very moment, designing the perfect wedding dress and bride's maid dresses as well. Temari had said one word to her: timeless. Meaning Hanabi was to take no risks and she was to be classy. And indignant Hanabi had said she was never one to do that. Temari learned a new trick: how to make Hanabi crumble.

Hinata was Temari's official planner, which included everything from how the rehearsal dinner would go and how the reception would end. She had Choji catering, Ino getting the floral arrangements, and was booking their flight to the Bahamas for a week and three days. And she didn't mind either. Everything was going steady with the company's campaign to go global. At this very moment, in America and possibly all over, their commercial was airing and everyone was getting a glimpse into their possible future. If they didn't know who Hyuga and Uchiha Co-Op. were before, they did now.

She barely noticed as the door opened, and Sasuke walked in, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips. He quickly walked over to her and slipped an arm around her tiny waist, which was decked out in a royal blue off-the-shoulder long-sleeve sweater and gray slacks, her hair pulled back in a ponytail with her bangs swept to the side.

She gave a soft smile, fitting against him perfectly, happily. "Hey. How was the meeting?"

"Boring as hell. I thought I would have to shoot somebody just to get a reaction," he said, dropping into a seat and opening the window. A gust of cold air blew into the room and Hinata poured herself a mug of hot green tea before sliding in across from him. The office was always at a balmy seventy-five degrees. Hiashi and Fuguka normally said this was the perfect temperature, but everyone else was hoping that one day, they would turn the heat down.

"It's your birthday today, isn't it?" He raised an expectant eyebrow, hand dangling out the window, a lazy smoke trail leading upwards.

Hinata nodded and suddenly, her most favorite thing to shop for, a blue Tiffany box appeared before her. Her iris-colored eyes widened as he quickly slipped the charm bracelet off her delicate wrist and flipped open the box. And just as quickly, in one smooth, fluid motion, he was adding a gold, swirly letter _H_ to her bracelet.

She smiled as he gently slipped it back on. "Thank you."

He turned back to the window, saying to the wind, "Happy birthday."

For a moment, they sat in silence, Hinata sipping on her tea and Sasuke smoking his cigarette. For a moment, Hinata could smile and enjoy just being in his presence, not shoved out of the way by his ego. For a moment, she could see the ghost of a smile on his full lips. For a moment, she could pretend they were a regular couple, like she used to fantasize about before, and they were this time.

Setting the cup down, she smiled as his fingers easily laced with her own. Then his dark eyes focused on her, like they were zeroing in and taking a direct course to her heart, sending out an electric shock that zinged through her body.

"Let's go for a walk."

She cocked her head, furrowing her brow. But nodded anyways, their fingers still laced together as he stood and both left the room.

-

If she had known wearing his too-long-for-normal-five-foot-five-people scarf was going to cause the hidden paparazzi to go crazy, like they were now, she would have never done so. But she had been cold, in her favorite long black pea coat and leather gloves, so of course he would be nice enough to let her use his scarf. She could smell his Old Spice body wash and shampoo and cigarette and cologne and tomato and just Sasuke smell on it. And she found it extremely delicious. Which is why it was wrapped up around her mouth, sitting just under her nose. And it wasn't even itchy.

Their fingers were laced together through the black leather of their gloves, their shoulders nearly brushing. Sasuke's eyes were focused lazily on a stop sign a few meters away. She was busying herself by taking big whiffs of his scent and letting it out slowly. So far, he hadn't even turned to look at her, just a glance to see how she was faring in the cold weather before his attention was on something else.

Others would have taken this as offensive. Here they were, holding hands, and he wasn't even bothering to look at her. But really, it was just how he was. He wasn't likely to swoop down, wrap you in his strong arms and begin an intense game of tonsil hockey with you at random, in the street. And that's how she liked it. It just wasn't her style to suddenly have dry sex on the bench in the park behind her favorite tree. That's not how she pictured a healthy, normal relationship would go. In fact, any sane relationship wouldn't even do that, but hey, kids were getting older these days.

His fingers gently squeezed hers and she looked up at him. He was probably five-nine, five-ten. Meaning he was _tall_. She was like a bug to him. He towered over her. Did she necessarily care? No, not really.

His face was set in a light scowl, directed right above her head. Slowly, she turned and was staring right at a big group of press. Bad move. Suddenly, they were all calling out, asking what they were doing, where they were going, why they were going there, what was going on.

And just as suddenly, she was tucked against his side, his arm around her shoulders, and they were walking, _fast_. She reached up and touched his arm, feeling his fingers slip between her own, creating those links that she loved. With a smile, she glanced over her shoulder to see the paparazzi following. She looked up to Sasuke, seeing his obsidian eyes set forward, face determined to get away and find somewhere where he didn't have to deal with a camera in his face.

"I'm cold," she announced loudly, and to her secret amusement, she looked to him, wide-eyed and innocent-looking. "And hungry."

The paparazzi went quiet as they stopped, Sasuke looking down at her, Hinata looking up at him. This was the moment where they found out where they were going and what they were going to do, so that they could follow oh-so-happily along.

Sasuke patted his jacket, then his pants pocket, then his back pockets. With a scowl, he pulled her close against him, her head resting on his chest comfortably, and rubbed her arm. "We can go to my place. I'll cook you something . . . or something."

She smiled, nestling against him. "Okay. I want something hot. Not that instant stuff."

He made a face. "I don't do instant. I, unlike Naruto, know how to cook."

"He's not even here and you're insulting him." Hinata chuckled softly into his coat, purely happy to just float in this blissfulness of his cologne-body-wash-cigarette-tomato-shampoo-Sasuke smell.

They began walking again, or as smoothly as people could when wrapped up in each other. She giggled as they stumbled in the cold, her cheeks turning pink as the scarf slid down. Her lips were curved into a smile, her lips sticky with lip-gloss in the cold. He was scowling, then not scowling, then ghosting a smile, then trying to keep from snickering as they stumbled around like lunatics.

"We look like idiots," he muttered and she smiled up at him, her eyes glinting in the early evening sunlight. "Do you honestly believe I care?"

For a moment, they stared at each other, stopped in the middle of the streets, others walking around, the paparazzi behind them, the sunset to the right of them, the park to the left of them. And Sasuke watching her with a smirk.

His hand slipped behind her head, resting on that special spot on her neck where his fingers were able to tell her pulse and how quick it was going. And then they were kissing, right there in front of the paparazzi, who were having a fucking field day. And it wasn't the kind of kissing where they were practically attacking each others mouths either.

It was soft, smooth, buttery. It fell in line with all those kisses she read about at night in romance novels. The kind of kiss she had always wanted, the kind that made your lips tingle and your heart melt and your stomach get butterflies and your mind stop and your breathing slow. It was sensual, wonderful, delicious, beautiful, all of the above.

And she absolutely adored it.

-

She watched as the last golden rays of sunlight disappeared from the floor-to-ceiling windows of Sasuke's bedroom, lying on her bare stomach under his black satin duvet and charcoal gray Egyptian cotton sheets. After their field day with the paparazzi, they had bolted, taking a secret, quicker route to Sasuke's apartment and had another make-out session, only this one went much further. And she was just fine with that. It wasn't like they were having sex every other day or something like that. And besides, it was her birthday. She deserved it.

"I thought you were hungry." She sat up and leaned on her elbows, her hair rippling down her shoulders and pale skin, contrasting beautifully. Sasuke stood in the doorway, only in his favorite dark wash Capezio jeans and opened gray oxford, which was his outfit for the day. It was the most casual-office thing she had ever seen on him, since he was usually all Armani suits and Gucci ties.

"I am," she said softly. "Just that I'm in need of clothes before I do so."

He rolled his eyes and tugged a gray Henley shirt from his closet. "You can wear this. Now come on. I didn't make food so you could sit around and be lazy."

She tugged the shirt over her head, getting a whiff of the mountain breeze and swallowed her giggles. He glanced over his shoulder at her, seeing the Henley shirt fit over her curves and barely graze her thighs. If she looked this good in his clothes, he might as well let her keep it.

Hinata slipped under his arm, so that his arm rested around her shoulders, her arm around his waist. "Arigato."

"Whatever." He smirked.

* * *

No! This is not, I repeat, IS NOT, the end. I would never . . . Okay, I won't end like this, not to you guys, my loyal readers who greatly adore me (XD).

Why? Because the ending- The Ending, doesn't that sound so . . . _endful_? Is that even a _word_? Now it is XD- will have a surprise that will shock you out of your minds. I'm talking _**BAM! IN YO' FACE! OUT OF THIS WORLD!**_ Okay? Kewl^^. And then when this is done, I'll have to go with Harmony. Net and God knows what else I'll do . . . That actually sounds like a good title . . .

Maybe something non-AU? Wouldn't that be nice? Just a thought^^

Tis CocoaAngel95 and I is out. Holla! XD


	22. Light Blue Silk Vests and ForgetMeNots

Hinata frowned, her Blackberry Storm (a birthday gift from Shino and Kiba) pressed to her ear, her legs crossed in her black polished straight jeans and dark blue sweater, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. "You want the wedding _where_?"

"Yeah!" Temari sounded excited and Hinata could see the dirty blond bouncing around her sunroom, probably in Shikamaru's robe, phone pressed to her ear, her hair down. "It'll be totally awesome. A little wedding in the mountains or something, you know. Maybe even at Aspen, yeah? I'd love to have my wedding in like, an ultra-classy lounge, you know?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Hinata, cigarette dangling from his lips, fiddling with his new LG Vu. "Who's that?"

Hinata mouthed "Temari" and he blinked, setting his phone down. "Put her on speaker phone."

Hinata did as she was told and sighed, pinching the bridge of her dainty nose. "Temari-chan, why would you want a wedding in the mountains in the first place? Have you even talked this over with Shikamaru-kun? Do you know how much it would cost? It would cost entirely too much for plane tickets, but to have to buy more for your honeymoon? And why would you want to fly to Aspen for your wedding anyways? I would have to start everything from scratch. Do you honestly want to go back to square one?"

Silence. A long pause. Hinata focused on the phone, her fingers wrapped around her steaming mug of green tea. Sasuke raised an eyebrow as he sat back, looking towards the window of the café. They were supposed to be on a tranquil little date, just by themselves, when Temari had called and said all this about Aspen and her wedding.

Hinata cleared her throat. "Ano . . . Temari-chan?"

"Yo," Temari's voice came back and Hinata's eyes widen at her next words, "My bad, my tea was all gone so I had to go back for more. Did you say anything while I was gone?"

Sasuke snatched the phone of the round table where they sat, thoroughly pissed. "She said why the fuck do you want to restart all the plans that she diligently worked on to have a damn wedding in the fucking mountains, half way across the fucking continent?"

"Gawd, what got shoved up your ass?" Temari snapped, sulking on the other side. "I simply said I wanted the location moved to Aspen, or somewhere in the mountains."

"Temari-chan," Hinata sighed, gently taking the phone back, tucking a wisp of dark indigo behind her ear. "Have you talked this over with Shikamaru-kun? Or his parents? Did you stop to consider that maybe some of us won't be able to go to Aspen for the wedding?"

"Noooo," Temari said softly. "But I want to move it. And we've got a few months. Besides, I can pay for his parent, that's fine. And we can adjust the date or something for those who say they can't make it."

"No you can't _stupid_," Sasuke bit out icily. "The date is set, everything is coming together and _now_ you decide you want to move location? Hinata should slap you----hard."

"Sasuke, please!" Hinata snapped, her temper rising. She took a deep breath and relaxed, counting to ten then twenty before turning back to the phone. "Temari-chan, it's not that simple. We already have a set date. And if we do anything, we have to think of the necessary funds and the budget and other people. The invitations would have to be redone because of the directions, and we'll have to found a place to get you married and the reception afterwards. A lot goes into planning these things, Temari-chan. You can't just up and hit delete, it's just not that simple."

It was silent, only the sound of breathing from the phone. Sasuke crossed his arms over his Calvin Klein dark gray turtleneck. Hinata sipped on her tea, waiting patiently for her friend to make up her mind. If Temari decided to stick with her decision, they'd be behind a few steps, quite possibly a few days, the budget would need to be increased, and they'd have to do a lot more work to have the wedding done on time. Meaning she'd be a lot crankier and tired.

"Just do it, Hinata-chan," said a lazy, sleepy voice. "I'm totally cool with it."

"Shikamaru-kun!" Hinata squeaked and Sasuke rolled his eyes so hard they might have fallen out of his head if he rolled any harder. "Are you serious? This wedding- we've got two months before it happens! You can't possibly be serious, can you? I can't plan a wedding in two months-!"

"You went global in _four_ months, Hinata-chan," he said, slow and level. "I know some companies who started out going global and _only_ just reached their goal. You managed to do so in four months. You're amazing at these things. Just do it. In fact, if you can get it done in two months, I'll give you bonus."

"You're paying me?" Hinata's voice was barely above supersonic. "But I volunteered! I don't need the money, Shikamaru-kun! It's not necessary! Honestly!"

"Nonsense!" Temari's bubbly voice filled the space. "Of course we're paying you! And we're paying Ino and Choji as well! You deserve it; especially after all you're doing for us!"

"Flattery will get you no where," Sasuke muttered. Hinata sighed, her shoulders sagging, massaging her temples with her manicured fingers. "Fine, fine. I can . . . I can try to get this done. But don't blame me when half your guests will be standing and the other half aren't."

"Arigato!" Temari laughed. "Again, Hinata-kun, you're a lifesaver! I mean it! This couldn't happen without you!"

She hung up and Hinata looked to her mug with a dejected look, looking for solace because Sasuke rarely handed that out. "I can't believe this. In two months, I have to move everything around, cancel things that I probably won't get a full refund on, redo my strategy and somehow keep everything running smoothly here." She shook her head, her ponytail swishing. "Why do I get myself into these things?"

"I don't know," Sasuke leaned back in his fancy black iron chair, sipping on his espresso. "Why do you do these things for people?"

She pursed her lips in annoyance at him, lifting her lukewarm mug to her glossy red lips. "That's why I wasn't asking you."

-

Temari grinned widely at Sasuke, who glared murderously at her as she pinched the light blue silk material of his vest between her long French-tipped nails. "Oh yeah, I definitely like this. I want this one."

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched in response as Hinata giggled, nodding to the tired-looking salesman beside her. "All right then, Temari-chan. It's ten black three-piece-,"

"With the blue vest," Temari chirped happily, nodding approvingly at Choji, Neji, Kiba, Naruto, Shino, Kankuro, Gaara and Lee.

"With the blue vest," Hinata smiled next to her. "We'll rent these."

The pudgy man nodded enthusiastically, scurrying away with his yellow tape measure and shiny shoes. Sasuke pressed his lips together, silently vowing to ruin this suit any possible way he could to get back at the "blushing bride". He was going to make her pay, literally.

Hinata smoothed out Kiba's black lapel, smiling. "It doesn't look so bad. I mean, it looks nice against the black."

"It's very youthful," Lee inquired, lifting a finger to the air and smiling proudly. Neji sighed next to him, lifting a hand to his face.

Kankuro glared at his sister, crossing his arms and pouting. "I should kick your ass, Temari."

She waved an arm through the air, turning away impassively. "Oh, deal, you big baby. Gaara isn't complaining and neither should you. We're going to do dresses next, so just hold your horses. We'll even get you one if you don't like the tuxedo."

Hinata sighed as the others (save for Neji, Shino, Sasuke, Shikamaru and Gaara) laughed at Kankuro. "Please. We have to hurry. Hanabi wishes to be somewhere before eight and it is now-," she checked her watch, hoisting her black Marc Jacobs hobo bag onto her shoulder, "-seven twenty. We need to hustle or we'll never make it."

The guys shuffled into the dressing rooms just as the door to the shop opened. A frazzled-looking Sora (Shino's friend from the party) walked in, her black pumps padding across the carpeted floor. "Am I late?"

Hinata smiled, shaking her head as Temari gave the girl an once-over. "No. You're just in time. Actually, we were just finishing up here."

Sora nodded, placing a hand on chest and breathing deeply. "Oh, good. I didn't want to miss the fittings."

"Who are you exactly?" Temari blurted and Sora blinked as Hinata sighed. "I get the feeling I know you from somewhere. I just can't remember."

Sora flashed her a dazzling smile. "I'm a popular real estate agent. You may have seen me in commercials or something like that."

Temari narrowed her eyes, snapping her fingers as if the physical movement would help her remember. "No, no, that's not it. You were there the night of the party, right? With . . ."

"Shino," Hinata said and turned to see her friend walk out. "Sora-san's here."

She raised an eyebrow at his tuxedo. "I never thought you would be so brave, Shino-san. Blue does seem to suit you."

Temari laughed loudly at Shino's bewildered expression (he had to take his glasses off), throwing an arm around Sora's shoulders. "Good one! I never thought I'd see the day Shino would get tongue tied. You always seemed to like a stick in the mud at school."

He turned around haughtily, or as haughtily as Shino could get, and marched right back into a dressing room, Hinata sighing softly. "You guys are so mean to him. Shino-kun is just as nice and fun as another person."

Temari shrugged, spinning around on the three-and-a-half inch heel of her black zipper to-the-knee boots. "Whatever you say, Hinata-kun. You spent more time with him than I did."

Hinata side-glanced at Sora, who blushed distinctly under her gaze. "I have reason to believe I wasn't the only one."

-

Hinata frowned, staring at the sweet-heart neckline of her strapless light-blue dress. How Temari's vests and Hanabi's dresses matched, she didn't know, but she had reason to believe that they had planned it.

"This was set up," Sasuke announced glaring at Hanabi, who was busy fiddling with the dropped waist of TenTen's dress. He turned to Temari, scowling. "You planned this, didn't you?"

Temari rolled her eyes and went back to watching Hanabi, who finished with TenTen and was busy studying Sakura's hem. "Whatever."

"You're not denying it," he pointed out and she shot him a glare, hands on her hips. "Gawd, Sasuke, bitch much? Can't I have one thing for my wedding? Quit your bitching and sit down."

"Guys," Hinata turned and gave them a hard look. "Now is not the time. We are two months into everything and I only have two and half more to go on, got it? Sasuke, if you can't handle the tuxedo decision, than you don't have to be a groom's man, okay?"

"Ooooh," Hanabi laughed, wrapping her tape measure around her neck, pleased with her work. "She got you, Sasu-chan!"

Sasuke plopped down on an cream, leather ottoman, the girls giggling around him. "Whatever. Can we just hurry up and go-,"

Everyone went silent at the sound of a ringing phone. Hinata lifted the floor-length skirt of her dress and padded across the polished bamboo floor. Digging through her bag, she brought the phone to her ear, muttering in hushed tones as she headed towards a different part of Hanabi's loft/studio.

"I wonder what that was about." Sakura bit her glossed lip, her bubble gum pink hair pulled up in a clip, like the others.

"I hope it's got nothing to do with my wedding," Temari commented and fingered some white silk fabric.

The others grew silent, until Hinata came back, who instantly got bombarded with questions, most dealing with the wedding.

She held up a hand, sighing. "No, everything is just fine. In fact, it has nothing to do with the wedding." She turned her eyes on Sasuke. "But apparently, we are the new It couple. Father and Fuguka called complaining that we made complete mockeries of the Uchiha and Hyuga name."

Temari let out a whistle as the others laughed. "Good God, talk about a stick up the ass. At least we know how Sasuke inherited his."

Sasuke glared at her as the others laughed, stalking past Hinata and out of the room.

Hinata clapped her hands, trying to get everyone's attention. "All right ladies, we have work to do. I believe we need to fix Sora's dress and- Where is Ino?"

"I'm here!" Ino burst in, her cheeks flushed and her platinum blond hair sticking to her lip gloss. "I'm sorry I'm late! I was looking for the forget-me-nots in the cooler back at the shop and I just couldn't find them! But then I did and I realized what time it was and I like, totally freaked! I'm sorry I'm late! But!" she ducked her head, searching her tan leather tote. "I just had to show these to you!"

She pulled out two bouquets as the girls crowded around. They were beautifully made and were overflowing with white and blue flowers of any origin, exotic mixing gorgeously with the plain. She smiled with pride as the girls ooohed and aahhhed over her creations. "It took me forever to get the design right, but I finally did it!"

"They're wonderful!" Temari gently took them, her hands shaking softly. "I can't believe you guys keep doing this for me."

Hinata rested a hand on her shoulder, ignoring the vibrating of her phone. "That's what friends are for, Temari-chan. Now, please, Ino-chan, get your dress on. We have many things to do and very little time to do them."

* * *

Just a look into her busy schedule. Don't worry, I'm thinking of a few more scenes in Aspen (yeah, snow-covered mountains and hot chocolate are always nice XD hint, hint nudge, nudge)

I know, the pages are getting longer, then shorter, then longer, then shorter. But when you're losing inspiration, which I am sad to say is happeneing here, that happens. Don't worry! I just need to re-read and I'll have a chapter ready in few days^^


	23. Silver Keys on Christmas Morning

Christmas Eve.

Hinata smiled, her leather-gloved fingers laced with Sasuke's, her ears warmed by her black fuzzy earmuffs. Sasuke walked beside her, his impossibly long scarf wrapped around his neck. And the other side wrapped around hers. She was getting dizzy from smelling his scarf so hard. But it was well worth it, because of the high from his Old Spice body wash-and-shampoo-and-cigarette-and-cologne-and-tomato-and-just-Sasuke smell.

The city of Tokyo was in high Christmas spirits. Neon signs mingled with the warm glow of shop windows. Reds and greens flashed on the streets. Jolly Santas in red suits sat on corners, ringing copper bells for Goodwill and ho-ho-hoing away. The mere air smelled of gingerbread houses and surgar cookies and candy canes. Gifts were wrapped in shiny paper of all colors and shopping bags were swinging on thousands of people's arms.

This was the time of year Hinata enjoyed. The time of year where Hiashi became less bitter and Neji got what he wanted and Hinata could take a few days off to rest for once. And even with Temari and Shikamaru's wedding around the corner, there was this lull in everything, where she could find herself taking a deep breath, smelling Sasuke's surprisingly good cooking and relax.

Snow was packed onto the streets and even though it was only seven, the sun was long gone. Streetlights and shop windows and Christmas lights lined everything, casting a wonderful glow. The snow seemed to glitter with greens and reds and golden yellows. Shoe marks from boots and heels were made all over. Bodies crowded the streets, hailing taxis and just mashing together in the usual traffic.

Hinata watched her breath as it came out in white vapor puff, causing a smile to grace her glossy full lips. When she was younger, she used to pretend to be cool and smoke the air. Curl her fingers around the imaginative cigarette, touch her numbed fingers to her lips, inhale and slowly exhale. But she was never very good at it. And she only did it when she was dizzy and giddy from standing out in the cold so long. Kiba and Akamaru were known for their giant snowballs.

Her black Kenneth Cole Unlisted boots crunched in the ice and snow and her black peasant skirt rustled against her black wool thigh-highs. It was probably best that Sasuke didn't know about that. She could feel him beside her, their body heat mingling in their closeness, their shoulders brushing, the soft sound of their shoes on the snow-packed streets, the familiar trend of his feet, his long legs taking confident strides, obsidian eyes as dark as winter night looking straight ahead. There was even the possibility of a cigarette dangling from his lips.

She turned to him, smiling softly. "I like this time of year."

He glanced at her as they turned the corner, more flashing neon signs and more swinging bags greeting them. "Oh?"

She nodded, turning back and swinging their arms loosely, like she was enjoying herself in the last seven months (or was it eight?) they had known each other. "Mm-hmm. It was on the few times a year Hanabi would come home. The only time of year when Hiashi wasn't so hot-headed, and when I wasn't getting hassled for my lack of leadership. I could depend on this month to bring the lull of the holidays, where Neji got what he wanted and I got what I wanted and Hiashi got what he wanted and we didn't have to worry about greedy people."

Sasuke bobbed along side her, seemingly letting it sink in. "Mom likes this time of year as well. I bet she's throwing a batch of gingerbread into the oven now."

Hinata glanced at him, catching the slight homesickness in his eyes before it was wiped away. "I've never met Sasuke's mother yet."

He blinked, turning to face her. "You haven't, true. But that's for later."

"Why?" She didn't dare face him, instead bouncing along side him. But she was sure he could see it was forced. When someone has a bounce in their step, it's real. She was just bouncing along. There was a whole lot of difference. And sadly, they could both tell.

"I'm not going home for the holidays." He sighed, his breath coming out in a long puff of white. "Let's head back home. It's too cold to be doing this shit."

"Wait," she tugged him towards the edge of the sidewalk. "I just have to go somewhere. Hanabi really wants something for Christmas and I'm the only one she can rely on to get it."

"Why you?" He muttered under his breath, walking behind her as the pushed through the crowd. "Weren't you just complaining about the wedding and how you wanted to relax?"

She glanced over her shoulder at him, that soft smile of hers gracing her lips, glittery in the orange streetlights. "Did you, before you were dating me, shop seriously for anything other than food and clothes and books?"

He blinked, refusing to answer that question. She nodded, that her smile growing wider and more noticeable. "Exactly."

She pressed a gloved hand to the frosted glass door, the words Vintage Co. scrawled into the glass. "I found this place and figured it was the perfect shop for Hanabi's gift. She loves anything and everything vintage. I suggest you get her something as well." She grew silent, as if rethinking her last statement and turned to look at him. "Or you can just sign the card and leave it at that."

"I was going to do that anyways, but sure," he replied back, shoving one hand into his pocket, the other laced with Hinata's.

-

Hinata panted from his mere kiss, her head reeling and fingers groping for a hold. Maybe it was the way the street lights outside lit up the bedroom the way she liked. Maybe it was the fact that the windows revealed everything and yet nothing at all. Maybe it was due to Sasuke just wanting to watch her eyes flutter and her breathing to turn rapid and ragged.

He pulled her onto his lap, listening to her quick breaths in the dark. Coats were shed, fingers entangled in hair, and kisses issued up in large quantities. Honestly, she would have liked to get some sleep, wake up in the morning and be able to recognize the alarm clock in front of her. But Sasuke didn't give firm, heated kisses like this everyday.

She slowed the kisses, tried to bring him back to the fact that they might have to head in tomorrow, because that's how Hiashi was, ruthless and unforgiving of people's holidays. But this was Sasuke. He wasn't going to stop until he was ready. And unfortunately, she could see the stop sign so close, she could almost touch it.

No questions were asked and no words were exchanged. It was like the Nike motto. Just do. The problem was, Sasuke took this far. so far as to let her lust build up, matching possibly his own, before being nice. That's how he worked. Kisses and soft caressing and almosting. And she was at the receiving end of all these, which was torture.

He suckled her breasts, rolling the nipples between his fingers, listening to her quickened breaths and feeling her arching back. She could have told him stop, it's Christmas, there's presents to open in the morning. But he wouldn't listen. Besides . . . it was Christmas.

She clumsily undid his buttons, cursing under her breath for every one she missed. It was frustrating sometimes, how she, some one so dignified and respectable, could lose all of that within hours of just this guy. Her hands skirted across his bare chest, feeling the familiar and yet new, exotic sculpeted-ness of his body. Before, she had wondered how many hours it took to make this happen, and then how many times he had done this with other women. Did they all, too, wonder if he did this with other girls?

His fingers easily found the zipper, teasingly yanking it down far enough to have her wanting him to yank it down all the way. And of course, he never did. He knew her too well. How in just minutes of kissing, she was wired up enough to be wet before he even got to her. It was sad how much control he had over her and at the same time, she couldn't help it.

He pulled her close and she moaned, feeling all this lust getting to him as well. Couldn't they just skip this part, which was most excruciating? Rip their clothes off and not worry about it so much? Jump under the covers and "Just do?" She was only twenty-eight! They only had so much time!

Hurriedly, they pulled closer, yanked harder, moaned louder. They were like animals, attacking each other's mouths and waiting for the other give in. She could feel his member gearing up for that moment, giving her every ounce of pleasure there was to give. She played with the hem of his pants, listening to his grunts and her groans mingling in the heated atmosphere. Here, no telephones rang. No important meetings. No problem-solving. Just them, a condom and hopefully a few glorious hours to themselves.

He moved his hips against her and she groaned in response, feeling his friend grow firm and ready, waiting that special feeling of the first thrust. The first thrust always anticipated to take her breath away. The first thrust that always sent her reeling and crashing into the next wave of pleasure. The first and the last ones were always the best.

And he obliged, willing. The air filled her moans, which only got louder, to the point of down right crying his name. And if it hadn't been for the luxuriously thick walls, wonderfully soft bed, awesome one-way windows, she probably wouldn't be slamming against him now, going faster and anticipating that last wave, the one that always pushed her into that glorious sea of ecstasy.

-

It was officially Christmas morning.

Meaning her gifts to everyone should have arrived by now, including Hanabi's. Her eyes drifted over Sasuke's bedroom. From the large bed they slept in every night, to the cherry wood vanity that she was certain he had never used until she came along, to the Michelangelos that lined the natural brick walls. Everything was the same, save for the missing Sasuke beside her, who should have been just as naked, and the little purple box, sitting at the foot of the bed, glinting in the sunlight.

Greedily, she reached for it, the black duvet and sheets slipping down to reveal her pale skin. Like she cared. All she wanted to know was what she got for Christmas, from Sasuke, who had no doubt spent time on the internet looking for something just her.

No wait. This was Sasuke we were talking about. The most he would ever do was walk into random boutiques, glance around and head right back out. And if something caught his eye, he'd stay for a minute or two. Sasuke didn't shop, he _glanced_. There was a difference. But still . . .

Giddily, she bounced in place, gently coaxing the black ribbon off and easing the box out of its shiny, silky purple paper. The box was nothing special, just gray-blue and smooth. She lifted the top and sucked in a breath. Somehow, Sasuke knew just what she wanted.

Carefully, she lifted the silver chain out of the box, the light-blue tissue paper crinkling. At the end of the silver chain was an even prettier silver key, the numbers 302 scribbled into the head. That was the number of Sasuke's apartment. Meaning she was moving in.

Tears pricked her eyes, blurring her vision and she looked up from the slight shift of the bed, seeing his face. He sat crisscross, obsidian eyes focused intently on her face, reading her from tip to toe. From her flushing cheeks to her blurry eyes, he didn't know if he had done right or wrong.

She gently eased the key back into the box, a small, happy, watery smile spreading across her lips. "I love it."

And with simple words, she sniffled into his bare chest, cradled against him, enjoying the best Christmas yet.

* * *

This is somehow over 2,000 words. And I even added a little scene. It's been a while since I've done one. The last one was probably in the longest chapter, right? I don't know, I'll have to check.

Anyways, other news! I have become addicted to my own fanfiction. I know, how sad, but whatever. All I know is that right now, I keep reading over the chapters and can't wait for the next one. It's sad, like I said before, but y'all know me. I'm a sad and often weird person. So I guess I can say this is normal^^

Anyways, can you guess what the next chapter is? I shall give you a hint! Think candles, champagne and counting down from 12! Ha ha!

I'm CocoaAngel95 and I am outtie! :]


	24. Big Ass Boats and Telling Daddy Off

This is what y'all have been waiting for! And I know you have because you've been asking for it. So I'm excited to say (drum roll please)

Hinata's POV.

Enjoy :D

* * *

I stared sullenly at the documents in front of me. I had been so caught up in Temari-chan's wedding, what with trying to find the perfect area for the wedding at _Aspen_ over the phone and internet, and the flower girl dress, and the flower girl and the ring boy and ugh, my head was just seriously spinning with everything. And then, today, I had documents, after memos, after data to check over, to have Ayame pass out and to sign. My hand was cramping and I could see carpal tunnel in my future.

Underneath my desk, I stretched my legs out in my favorite modern clean rinse True Religion boot cut jeans, stuffed in Hanabi's teal Marc Jacobs boots, with pointed toes. Only Hanabi would make me wear such a ridiculously bright color to work, in _autumn_.

There was a knock at my door and I sat up straighter, happy for the distraction from my paperwork. All the work I had to do was seriously depressing, but I would have rather had paperwork than have to face my frowning father, who at the moment, was standing in front of me, all six-foot-two inches as tense and narrow as a man can be. Ayame stood beside him, shrunken and small next to his big and bad self.

I cleared my throat, pulling out a polite smile for him. "Hello, father. How can I help you?"

"We need to talk," he said, nodding to Ayame who bowed and quickly scurried out of the room. Lucky. "About you and Uchiha's son."

Quickly, my smile fell upside down and I sat completely straight, perched at the edge of my leather seat. "Oh? And what problem is there?"

He eased himself into the leather seat across from me and I didn't dare tell him that maybe an hour before lunch, Sasuke had been right there, talking about our plans. He could suffer for a little bit. "You two are much too cozy for my liking, especially at _in the office_."

I gathered my papers up, straightening them studiously as I talked. The sound of rustling gave me some courage to talk back to him. "Well, father, I'm sorry to say that no one has complained yet. I trust that my employees will be more than willing to tell when we have _sex on the conference table again_."

I could hear him tense up, it was so sharp. And in my sick and twisted way, I loved the fact that I could dig under his skin, make him think that I was just as slutty when he wasn't around. No wonder Hanabi got kicks out of saying disgusting things around, especially when we were younger.

He barely scowled at my words. "Hinata, please, your jokes are not appreciated right now."

Carefully, I laced my fingers together on the glossy top of my cherry wood desk, looking him right in the eye. "Father, I would appreciate if you didn't _dig_ your fingers into _my personal life_. What I do with my love life _after_ work is _none_ of your concern."

He narrowed his eyes, thinning his lips. "On the contrary, I believe I have entitlement to know what my _daughter_ is doing with her life, because she is my daughter."

I would have barked out a laugh, but I guess that would have shown Sasuke was seriously getting to me. So instead, I thinned my own lips, our eyes locked. "No, you do not. You had that right _before_ I was eighteen. But it's past that, in fact, ten years past that, and you didn't care then. So why, especially now that I am dating Sasuke, do you care now?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Hinata," he sighed, lifting a hand to brush his long ebony hair over his shoulder. "I cared for you then as much as I do now-,"

"Which wasn't a lot," I snapped out, surprised at myself. But I was feeling anger bubble and twist in my stomach, a hot flush creeping up my neck. Not a good sign, but I was never good at reading signs. "You call ridiculing me, admitting how _ashamed_ you were, how _embarrassed_ you were of me in front of everyone, caring for me?" I stood up, leaning over and slamming my palms against the desk to drive it home. "You _NEVER_ cared for me, Hiashi! All you cared about was looking good in the public eye, donating _hundred of thousands_ of money so you could get street credit! Helping orphaned children find happiness instead of helping me with my _Calculus_! All that is _fucking_ _bullshit_! You _have never cared_ for me, or Hanabi or Neji! ALL YOU CARED ABOUT WAS YOUR PRECIOUS MONEY!"

He stared at me as I turned on the three-inch heel of Hanabi's boots, my body trembling with rage. I was on the verge of tears, my vision blurring. "Please, get out of my sight so I can work. I don't ever want to hear you say anything about me and Sasuke again, understood?"

I barely heard the door closing, because by then, I was already crying. I hated Hiashi at the moment. He couldn't possibly understand what I've gone through. The stupid, stupid man. Honestly, my heart went out to him. At least he was _trying_. Though sometimes, his effort was absolutely _pathetic_.

-

The hot, sudsy water of Sasuke's sink washed over my fingers. It was probably seven at night, because we had left the office early to enjoy ourselves. Plus, it was a day before New Years Eve, which meant that Temari-chan was throwing a party at some large café, flaunting her and Shikamaru's money. Honestly, I wondered where all her money was coming from, because I didn't know what she did for a living.

I sighed, my body feeling heavy and tired, like I had just had a really good cry. And I had, about three hours ago. Sasuke was . . . oh, I don't even remember where he went. He was just gone. And I was happy for this silence. It was lonely, not comfortable like what I and Sasuke had. There wasn't this extra party there to ruin my sulking, my get-together with an old friend called self-pity.

Washing dishes was just what I needed. They had been stacking up all week, and of course, all we come here for is to sleep, eat, hang out and occasionally have sex. We rarely cleaned and with Sasuke out, I could get that done. I remembered now. He was with Naruto-kun, Shino-kun and Kiba-kun, out having a beer. They were probably at Shino's favorite country club, sitting under that glass dome in luxurious chairs, sipping the best beer.

I chuckled softly, remembering when Shino first found the place. You couldn't get him to leave unless he had another continent to go to, to discover more species of insects. But at least he was doing something other than sitting around and reading up on things he already knew. I guess it was probably better he gulfed and such instead of staying inside. He was much too pale during those in-between research and exploring times.

A bubble floated through the air as I scrubbed plate after plate, remembering what foods we had as the colored the water dirty. Spaghetti, stir-fry, bass, lime-kissed chicken, some grilled salmon, order-out. That was weeks and weeks of food. A month to be precise. We were disgusting, my honest opinion. But that's how life is sometimes. You just get too caught up in things, and then suddenly, you take look around and roll up yourselves, ready to clean up.

I didn't hear the door open, nor did I hear Sasuke's soft "Ohayo" or anything. But I did jump as he wrapped his arms around me, kissing my neck. I could hear the chuckle in the back of his throat, down in his chest. He didn't know about what Hiashi had said earlier and how I had accused him of being a deadbeat father. He didn't know about Hanabi walking in to find me sobbing at my desk, tears splattering my paper work. He didn't know it was Neji-niisan who suggested that we leave work early, covering for us as we left.

The lump in my throat grew as we swayed to some silent beat. Sasuke was talking, remembering all the silly/stupid things Naruto-kun had said, all the smacks Shino-kun had given Kiba-kun, all the perverted jokes they had laughed over. I shoved my emotions aside, laughing along, smiling and nodding like the good sport I am. I could have stayed there, in his arms, carefully moving so that I wouldn't lose the fit of his body against mine. I would have stayed there forever, in this calm abyss of naivety. I was happiest here.

Then I heard it. It was soft, whispered, his breath sweeping across my ear and down my cheek. But I know I heard it. Plain as day. Those three simple words that meant so much.

I stopped moving, breathing shallowly. He had said; I was absolutely sure of it. I couldn't have been mistaken. The tears built up as I turned to face him. His obsidian eyes, so dark, so wonderfully holding the ability to get lost in them, watched me, careful about their ways. He had said them, it was written all over his face, no matter how hard he had tried to hide them.

At that moment, I slumped against him, feeling happy and freer than when I was a little fourteen-year-old girl, learning I was getting better and better because father wasn't telling me what was wrong so much as adjusting here and there. I wrapped my arms around him, my head resting against chest, breathing in that oh so familiar smell of his. I didn't want to let go. I didn't have to let go. And I sure as hell wasn't going to let go.

"I love you too," I sniffled, no, more like giggled. "I love you too."

-

_New Years Eve, 9: 35 at night_

"Sasuke!" I called, running a hand down the side of my black silk gown, an H Designs, aka Hanabi's clothing line. I frowned as he poked his head out of the bathroom, face dripping with water from the shower. "We have to hurry or we'll be late."

He rolled his eyes, walking back in just a white towel. "Oh, please, Hinata. We can afford to be late. This is Temari we're talking about. She'll be late to her _own_ party."

I sighed, turning around to face the mirror on the closet door. It was practically the closet door, it was so huge. The dress was one-shouldered, showing off the paleness of my skin. It hung to the floor, with barely noticeable slits so that when I walked, my legs shown throw. It would have been see through, save for the purple satin sleeveless down underneath, which reached my knees.

Carefully, I placed in a pair of gold chandelier earrings, matching my charm bracelet. I would have worn the key, but I couldn't because it (Hanabi's words; not mine) clashed hideously with my gold jewelry and having the two together was just beyond tacky. But what did I know about fashion?

Finally, Sasuke stepped into the oversized closet (it had a marble island, just for holding jewelry) slinging his towel onto the counter and not bothering with words. I sighed again as he dressed, as slow as he possibly could, just to annoy me. But whatever. When we missed the best of the champagne, he'd be sulking about his own impudence.

As I finished up, making sure the updo my hair was in stayed up, Sasuke carefully eased on a white button down, threw a black tie around his shoulders and walked out. I scowled, for a millisecond, before grabbing his shoulder, carefully so I wouldn't ruin the Calvin Klein, and managed the tie, all the while muttering, "Honestly. I can't trust you to do anything without my help."

He bent down and kissed me, long enough to take off all four layers of my lip gloss before grabbing his shiny Gucci shoes and a pair of black socks. "You're absolutely right. I'm a good for nothing."

I turned and glared at him, holding my black Chanel compact, not even in my shoes yet. "You're just saying that."

"Yep." He stood and shoved his hands into his pocket, his black suit jacket already on. "You should hurry up. We're gonna be late." He smirked as he walked out of the closet, fully dressed and I scowled again, finishing with my red lipstick and pulling on my metallic gold Mui Mui strappy peep-toe sandals. He, sometimes, was _very_ annoying.

-

New Year's Eve, 10 'o' clock

The Mazda pulled up to the harbor, a large white, majestic-looking yacht sitting at the edge, bobbing up and down in the sea's black waves. I sighed, trying to shift a raven-dark corkscrew from between my eyes to my updo. "We are so lucky we got here o_n time_."

"Yes," he said, slipping out, his sunglasses still on. "Because I could have made us _so much more_ later." He probably punctured it with an eye roll, but I couldn't see it because of his glasses and the night sky, despite the golden glow coming from the oversized boat.

I frowned as I stepped out, watching him hand the teenage valet the keys and a warning: "Scratch it, dent it, or ding it and I will make you pay, with _serious_ interest." Only Sasuke could make a kid like that flinch and carefully pull out. But that's who I was dating and I didn't have much control over him.

He slipped an arm around my waist and dropped his glasses in the hands of the man who stood by the dock, in the ridiculous uniform of a doorman, who nodded stiffly and placed them in the pocket of his uniform, which looked warm in the December/January air. I shook my head at Sasuke. "You are too much."

"And yet you're still here," he replied, walking in his slow swagger, the one I had to match with a soft job to catch up.

I pursed my lips as we walked up the metal door of the yacht, entering this amazing foyer with a huge crystal chandelier hanging from the surprisingly high ceiling, couples streaming in behind us. I stared around in amazement, completely blown away. From the glossy parquetry floor to the Picassos on the wall, it was truly gorgeous.

"Goddamn, how much money does that lazy bastard and the loud-mouth have?" Sasuke muttered, looking around with me.

I couldn't help it, I laughed. He smirked down at me and soon, we were facing a wave of people, all wanting to kiss our cheeks, shake our hands, and know how well we were doing. It was like the high school reunion, only there were more faces that we did know who didn't go to school than the actually faces that did go to Konoha Academy. Not that we had much choice. It was New Year's Eve and I was in a good mood.

Not an hour into our games of Who's Richer than Who, the lights dimmed and two people appeared in the middle of the floor. No, it was more like the crowd parted and they walked through, hand in hand. I smiled, clapping with the others as Shikamaru-kun and Temari-chan showed up. They looked wonderful, Shikamaru-kun in a simple black Kenneth Cole tuxedo and Temari-chan in a black Pucci backless halter gown, the neck plunging to her toned stomach. A wide metallic gold band cinched her tiny waist and there was a small train behind her. With her, it was go big or go home.

"The paparazzi are going crazy over these two," Sasuke said beside me as they began talking, probably a welcoming speech for the crowd and cameras.

I nodded and was about to say something when I heard a familiar voice, Sora-chan's to be exact. "Yes. They are quite the pair. Especially after this night. No one has ever thrown a party this magnificent, especially for New Year's."

We turned to see her and Shino-kun, with out his usual glasses, revealing his steely gray-blue eyes. "I didn't know you were here."

She smiled, her ocean blue eyes sparkling as she turned to face Temari-chan and Shikamaru-kun. "Split-second decision." She self-consciously ran a hand through her hair, the large ebony waves rippling around her shoulders. In a short, flouncy chiffon backless Dior minidress layered a tight black floor-length skirt underneath, she looked fabulous, but standing next to Shino in his black tuxedo, she looked better.

I watched silently as Shino-kun and Sasuke shared a knowing look, Sasuke raising an eyebrow at my best friend. But I wasn't going to say a word. Shino had just as much right as anyone to date. I was just being snooty and jealous, sadly. I have issues, major issues.

"Anyways," I smiled, clapping my manicured hands and smiling brightly. "Let's grab the others and have a drink."

Sasuke eyed me was he made our way through the crowd's current, who had surged forward to congratulate Temari-chan and Shikamaru-kun on getting engaged. "Sounds like you grabbed something already."

* * *

I wrote all this, Hinata's POV let me remind you, for you! I should have the reviews rolling in! And constructive critisim is always welcome^^

Also! I have hit almost one-hundred reviews! So, when I do, I have a special gift for all of those. I will come out with 2 chapters. Yes, that's right, 2 chapters! For the single price of 1 XD

Now, getting cracking. 'Cause you ain't seein 2 until I see 100+ :D ~CocoaAngel95


	25. Baby's Breaths and Blue Roses Awesome

So this is it! After a grueling 7 DAYS, you have finally managed to get up to 100 reviews! I'm so proud of you guys XD Anyways, I know, I know! I promised 2 chappies!

And 2 chappies you shall get! Fear not my beloveds! I have made a promise and intend to keep it! So here we go!

Chapter 1 of 2! Enjoy :]

* * *

Sasuke scowled into the cold morning air, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips. He shoved his black leather-gloved hands into the deep pockets of his long Marc Jacobs trench coat, watching as the sky slowly became pink and orange as the sun rose. It was February, just a week and a half before the actual wedding was to take place. But, Hinata and the rest of the "Rookie Nine" had to fly in earlier because most of them had to be/ or were part of the actual wedding and needed to prepare. Unfortunately, they were supposed to have been gone twenty minutes ago and they were still waiting for Shikamaru and Temari to show up.

Hinata sighed, her breath coming out a puff of white vapor. "Gaara-san, did you call Temari-chan?"

"Yes, _Subaku_, did you call you lazy-ass sister?" Sasuke snapped, Hinata turning to shoot him a pinched look that he blatantly ignored.

Gaara crossed his arms over his long khaki toggle-button coat, a frown gracing his full lips. "Yes, I did. In fact, I called her _twenty_ minutes ago and she said she was on her way."

Kankuro rolled his eyes, shoving his leather-gloved hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. "Gaara please. We all know it takes her longer than that to get ready. We're going to Aspen-,"

"Technically, no," Hinata sighed again, brushing her dark indigo bangs to the side with her black leather-gloved hand. "We'll be staying at the resort _in_ Aspen. You'll have to pay and everything to go skiing and such, but Aspen isn't actually the resort. The actual wedding will take place about a mile or so away from the resort, which I hope is good enough for Temari-chan. It's got a direct view of the mountains, just like she was asking for, or I think was asking for."

"Whatever," Ino rolled her sky-blue eyes, crossing her arms and popping a hip in her winter white long fur coat, which Akamaru was growling at. "She's taking _forever_. If she had just packed _ahead_ of time, like normal people do, when you told her to, we wouldn't be standing here in this God forsaken weather!" She shook her head, her platinum blond ponytail swishing. "My hair is freezing, dammit!"

"It's called a blow-dryer," Sasuke snapped as Naruto snickered, glaring at her. "Maybe if you weren't so broke from buying all those damned designer brands, you would be able to _afford_ one."

"Shut up!" Ino snapped, scowling darkly. "At least I don't take _advantage_ of poor Hinata-kun and her kindness! I know you only asked her to move in with you so you could have someone to clean up after your lazy ass!"

"You what?" Naruto and Kiba shot him dangerous looks "Are you taking advantage of Hina-kun?"

"No, he isn't," Hinata stared all of them down, her voice pinched and icy, her pale lavender eyes narrowed. "Now, if you would please be so kind as to _drop_ _the subject_, and focus on the fact that we need everyone on the _same_ team for this work. This is Temari-chan and Shikamaru-kun's _wedding_. We should be happy for them." Her eyes shifted to the distance, where a black Lincoln Navigator was driving up. "That's should be them right now."

Temari slipped out with Shikamaru right after her, carrying their things to the plane, a broad smile on her face as she approached them. "Hi, guys! I am _so_ sorry we're late! I was taking a shower and I guess it took a little-,"

"That's not the point," Kankuro snapped, glaring down at her, shivering in the morning air. "We've been out here for twenty goddamn minutes waiting for your lazy ass to get here! We're cold, hungry, tired and _not_ in the mood for you excuses, Temari!"

Hinata sighed, giving him a forced smile. "Thank you, Kankuro-san." She cast Temari a disapproving glance before turning towards the long staircase to the private jet. "Once everything is loaded on, we can leave. I have a few things to run over before we hit Aspen, so be prepared. I hope everyone had a good night's sleep."

The followed mumbles and shuffling of feet were all she heard as she climbed up the stairs. Making a mental attendance check, she smiled as everyone sat down on the taupe leather seats, the red velvet walls popping against the neutral color. So far, so good. She hoped that with this, everything would go as planned and she could even get Temari to a spa in time.

Then something clicked.

"Dammit!" she cursed under her breath as she rushed into the cockpit and told the pilot to hold on before throwing on her coat and walking outside. Just as she suspected, a wine-red Audi Q5 pulled up to the runway, Hanabi sliding out in a long red velveteen pea coat, her auburn hair up in a high ponytail.

"Hanabi!" Hinata puffed, her eyes narrowed in the cold as she held her jacket closed with her gloved hands. "You need to _hurry_! We need to leave before nine thirty or we'll never get there in time!"

Hanabi smiled up at her from behind a pair of rimless sunglasses. "Relax onee-san! I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Hinata scowled softly in the cold air and taped the pointed-toe of her black leather Christian Louboutin short boots at the top of the stairs. Hanabi rushed up the stairs and into the jet, flashing Hinata an apologetic smile and slipping off her coat, murmuring an excuse. Hinata sighed and slammed the door shut before walking past her younger sister into the cabin

"Now," she clapped her hands, gaining everyone's attention. "We can finally leave." She dropped her coat into the waiting arms of a flight attendant and sank into the comfortable leather loveseat which created the isles of the plane. Sasuke slipped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and obeying the no smoking rules Hiashi enforced, even if he wasn't here.

She nestled against him, closing her burning eyes. "I am so tired. I just want to sleep."

"That's why they call it a job," Sasuke rubbed her arm, using his other hand to play with his phone, a favorite past time of his when he couldn't smoke. "You're not supposed to sleep on it."

She sighed against his dark blue sweater. "Then I guess I'm just a bad wedding planner."

He smirked, letting his cheek rest on her shoulder.

-

"What?" Hinata gave Ino a tired glance as the bubbly blond smiled, nodding her head vigorously.

"Yes!" Ino ducked her head and began rummaging through her cream-and-gold slogan Louis Vuitton carry-on, smiling broadly. She pulled out a corsage made up for white Baby's Breaths and soft blue roses, minty green leaves surrounding the edges, filling the cabin with a sweet, floral scent worthy of the best of expensive perfumes. "I whipped these bad boys up last night and thought they were absolutely adorable! I had to bring them! I thought Temari-kun might like them, to put on the dresses!"

Sakura took one from her spot next to a sleeping Naruto as Ino excitedly passed them out, bouncing gleefully from her seat next to Choji. "They _are_ very beautiful."

Sora sniffed them daintily, sitting next to Shino, careful not to let any pollen fall on her glacier blue poncho. "And they smell exquisite."

Hinata sighed, her shoulders slumping in tired surrender as she looked to Temari. "I can't say no unless you say no, Temari-chan."

Temari cocked her dirty blond head, her sea-foam green eyes glittering questioningly. "I, personally, adore them. It's just a simple matter of the budget and how much this is going to cost."

"Oh, what, you actually _care_ for that thing?" Sasuke snorted, Shikamaru shaking his head beside his fiancé. "You didn't seem to care all the other times, when it was especially _important_."

"Oh, would you shut _up_?" Temari snapped, glaring at him, before turning towards Ino. "How much are we talking for this?"

"Nothing," Ino waved her hand through the air, brushing off comment like it was nothing but air. "I've got so many orders coming in for weddings and bouquets; I don't need the extra money. You know, you're a big inspiration for events and such. Ever since it got out that you were having this big wedding up in the mountains, I've been getting more and more orders lately. I guess I should be grateful, huh?"

Hanabi piped up from beside Gaara who was admiring Ino's handiwork, smiling broadly. "I know! I've gotten more orders for wedding dresses! And not even wedding dresses! I'm getting things for like major events and even a few prom dresses! It's _incredible_!"

"Cool," TenTen smiled at Temari from between Lee and Neji. "That means your wedding is doing a great job of advertising for the rest of us."

Temari smiled at Choji, who sat quietly, holding his corsage. "And what about you, big guy?"

He blinked and blushed, smiling happily. "We've gotten more customers as of lately. Business is booming for my restaurants. Sales have gone up twice as much as well."

Hinata clasped her hands together, beaming around the cabin and feeling a little better about herself and the day. "That's wonderful, everyone! I'm so happy for you all!"

Kiba smiled at Hinata, Akamaru resting at his feet. "It just means Hina-chan's doing a better job of planning than those other expensive punks who call themselves wedding planners."

Lee lifted his complimentary mug of coffee, which must have been his fourth one of the morning. "I propose a toast, to the youthful Hinata-chan! May she always be smiling and full of youth!"

Hinata blushed happily, Sasuke's arm around her waist as she raised her own lemon-yellow with the others (including all the usual sit-out-siders) as they toasted her. At least she could say she was doing her job well, as far as being a friend and wedding planner went.

-

After a seven and half hour flight, they were almost there. Hinata gracefully stretched in her seat, feeling her back pop from the uncomfortable position she had fallen asleep in. As everyone else moaned and groaned, the co-pilot's voice came on over the intercom, snapping them to attention.

"At this time, we need you to buckle up. Prepare for some turbulence."

"Oh man," Kiba groaned, rubbing his neck. "Never again, no matter how comfortable these things look."

Naruto stretched, yawning widely. "Are we there yet?"

Sakura sighed, shoving his face aside. "Go back to sleep, Naruto. We've got another fifteen minutes."

Sasuke rolled his obsidian eyes, buckling his seat belt and leaning back. "Baka."

"Hey, shut up teme!" Naruto twisted in his seat and glared at him. "I heard all about you taking advantage of Hinata-kun! I could tell Kiba and your ass would be dog meat! Game over!"

"Turn around dobe," Sasuke shot him a dry glare. "Your big mouth is disturbing the peace."

Naruto dropped back into his seat, haughtily buckling himself in as the other's snickered/giggled/chuckled around the luxurious cabin.

* * *

I do love the sound of their plane. It's very luxurious. When I get older and have tons of money, I'm gonna get one of those planes. And everyone is going to be _soooooooo_ jealous, because it's going to be mine and NOT THEIRS. SO _HA_! IN YOUR _FACES_! TO ALL THOSE YOU THOUGHT I COULDN'T AND _WOULDN'T_ MAKE IT AS A GREAT AND ACCOMPLISHED WRITER!

_FUCK_ YOU! -ahem- Excuse my language. I hope you enjoyed :]

~This is CocoaAngel and I am outtie :]


	26. Daddy Firing the Hired Help

So, here is the second part to the 2 chappies! I know, you're bouncing up and down in your seat, salivating for this next bit, aren't you?

You're not?

Ah, that's okay. You reading is good enough XD

So here we go! :D

Chapter 2 of 2!

* * *

Naruto let his spiky blond head rest on Hinata's shoulder, speaking in his accented English. "Do the rooms have big beds and soft pillows, Hina-chan?"

Hinata smiled gently, handing him two card keys, her English perfect with a slight accent. "I should think so." She motioned for the others as they wandered around the huge lobby of the ski resort. "The floor number and what door your room is should be on the card. The roommates go as follow: Shino-kun and Kiba-kun, TenTen-chan and Neji-niisan, Temari-chan and Shikamaru-kun, Naruto-kun and Choji-kun, Sakura-chan and Sora-chan, Kankuro-san, Gaara-san and Lee-san, and then there's Sasuke and me."

She smiled as they took their cards. "If there are any problems, tell me and I'll see what I can do. You will be paying for room service, but there _is_ free breakfast which is from eight to ten, lunch which is from twelve to two and dinner which is from seven to nine. There's wireless internet throughout the resort. You have access to the hot springs-,"

"Wait!" Temari grabbed Hinata by her shoulders, staring at her wide-eyed and speaking in half Japanese, half English. "There's a hot springs here?"

"Um, yes," Hinata stepped out Temari's grasp and smiled warmly as she continued. "There is also a heated indoor pool, a bowling alley, an indoor gym that includes kick-boxing at seven-thirty in the morning to eight, yoga at eight to eight-thirty, and there are professionals here as well to help with your workout. Oh, yes, a sauna in both changing rooms and a large spa that gives massages, waxes, wraps, manicures and such other things."

They stared at her as she wrinkled her delicate nose before reciting the rest: "Also, there is a bar. I believe they don't start serving drinks until eight in the evening and go until four in the morning or maybe it's three . . . There's an indoor mini golf course as well. Um, I believe that's it."

"What did you do?" Sasuke said, picking up his suitcase and throwing it on the shiny gold cart of their bellhop. "Memorize the whole brochure?"

"I wouldn't be surprised." Shino gave her an amused smile before looking to Kiba. "I propose we finish that game of miniature golf from before. I believe the score is thirty-two to thirty-two."

"You're on!" Kiba hastily threw his suitcase onto their cart and handed the bellhop a hundred, without meaning to, rushing over to Hinata. "Tell me where it is so I can beat this stick-in-the-mud once and for all!"

Hinata giggled softly, handing him a map of the resort. "I'm sure you will Kiba-kun." She handed out more maps to the others as they began walking away. "And you should all know where to find me!" She spun on her heel before frowning and turning to Neji as he and TenTen passed, who were following their bellhop. "Ano, I believe I'm forgetting something."

He gave her soft smile, patting her head. "I'm sure it's nothing important. You haven't forgotten anything big in a while."

She sighed, smoothing her hair down. "I suppose."

"Come," Sasuke grabbed her wrist and motioned for their bellhop.

"W-wait," Hinata stuttered, her cheeks turning light pink. She knew what was going to happen the minute they were in the room. Maybe he'd be courteous and let the bellhop go before he did anything. She bit her lip. "W-what's the r-rush? Why d-don't we check o-out the bar? O-or maybe-,"

He looked at her, an elegant eyebrow raised. "What's your problem?"

She blinked, for a second, hopeful that he was being honest. But then again, this was Sasuke. To any other person, that act would have just been his usual dominating self. Unfortunately, she knew him too well for that.

She let out a sigh, letting him pull her to him. "Nothing. I just want to check out the building."

"We can check it out later," he replied, an arm draped around her shoulders. "First we have to unpack."

She knew for a fact he didn't care for unpacking. If anything, it was an excuse for the bellhop to keep looking forward, mindless of them. She sighed again, knowing all too well where this was going to end up. And of course, she was right.

-

"So?" Temari cocked her head, all the girls enjoying the benefits of the hot springs, tucked away in a little corner that would be their head quarters. "Did you and your hubby break in the room?"

Hinata looked away as the others giggled, her cheeks flushed from both the heat and Temari's remark. "Please, girls, that's inappropriate."

"Oh whatever onee-san," Hanabi nudged her, giggling. "We all know what you and Sasuke were doing in there. Who didn't know?"

Hinata's expression went from embarrassed to mortified as the girls laughed harder. "You don't mean . . . You couldn't hear us, could you?"

"Calm down," Ino sipped her sweet Saki, giggling. "Despite how much I'm starting to hate his guts, Sasuke is fine. I don't blame you."

"Yeah, you can only wish to hit that," Hanabi poked her in the ribs, laughing harder.

Sora chuckled as Sakura and TenTen giggled beside her. "Honestly, you guys are so mean to each other."

"Oh hush," Temari draped an arm around Hinata's shoulders, smiling broadly. "You two are the same. The nice ones in our group."

"Hey!" TenTen poked her in the shoulder, her bright chocolate-colored eyes twinkly. "And what about me? Aren't I a nice girl?"

"Ha!" Ino slapped her shoulder. "If I remember correctly, you were one of the boys, rough, rowdy and way more into archery than you should have been. But at least you were the occasional miniskirt and heels."

TenTen rolled her eyes as Hinata giggled. "Oh thanks, that makes me feel a lot better, Ino."

"Hey," Ino jabbed a thumb at Sakura, who blinked in surprise. "You could have been like billboard brow here and been a total geek obsessed with Marc Jacobs!"

"Oh shut up Ino-pig!" Sakura splashed her. "If I recall, you were into Calvin Klein because of the models on the bags!"

Sora giggled as they all began arguing over details from the past, swimming over to Hinata. "Have they always been like this?"

Hinata smiled at her, tucking a strand of dark indigo behind her ear. "Just when there's alcohol involved."

Sora smiled, turning to face them. "Then I guess we'll be going down to the bar with the guys as well tonight eh?"

Hinata smiled at her, nodding softly. "You've become quite good at this."

"I try."

-

Hiashi's eyebrow twitched as he stood in the doorway of Hinata's office. She wasn't here. In fact, there was no one in here. Not even Neji was here. Hiashi frowned, closing the door softly. They had an important meeting and Hinata, nor Sasuke, nor Neji was here to go to it. How wonderful. How delightful.

"Ah, sir?" Ayame walked up to him, nibbling her lip.

He cast her a glance before sighing and straightening his gray checked double-breasted Hermes suit. "Tell me, Ayama-san, where is Hinata and Sasuke?"

Ayame checked her watch and smiled. "At this moment, they should be landing in Aspen." She frowned lightly up at him. "Why? Did Hinata-sama not tell she was leaving today?"

"No," he sighed, turning to her. "No, she didn't. And we have a very important meeting today."

Ayame skimmed through her little red planner before biting her lip. "Oh, I'm sorry then." She pulled out a bright turquoise sticky note, biting her lip guiltily. "She did ask me to tell you to post-pon the meeting until she came back."

"And when is that?" he kept calm, willing himself to blow up at home, over a nice glass of scotch.

She skimmed her planner again before smiling and tapping a French-tipped nail on a page. "A week and a half from today."

"A week . . . And a half?" He watched her as she nodded proudly before turning on the heel of his expensive Gucci loafers. "Good. That means you've got a week and a half to get your desk cleared. I'll have your last check and a hundred thousand sent to your account."

She stared blankly at him. "W-wha?"

He turned and nodded at her, his face emotionless. "That's right, dear. You're fired."

* * *

As you can tell, Hiashi is NOT HAPPY. But I believe I do like this unhappy Hiashi than the other. He seems more brutal in this state. Because in this one, you couldn't tell he was going to fire her until his little line up there. The other one, he was all up in yo face XD

Yes, I do believe I like this Hiashi better^^

So there you have! _2 chapters_ that you have been waiting for! Aren't you _so_ _happy_?

This is CocoaAngel95 and I'm outtie :]


	27. TwoHundred Dollar Tiffany Vase

I'm so sorry this is late! I couldn't get inspiration and then today, I broke my Mom's shot glass (my parents collect them)

and VOILA! Chappie I Forget was born!

So, I hope you enjoy. I know it's short, but you're gonna have to deal^^

* * *

**_Six Days Before Wedding Date . . ._**

Hinata sighed, pressing the tips of her fingers to her temples as she, Temari and Shikamaru stood in the ballroom where the reception of the wedding would be. People ran around, careful to give her a wide berth as they tried to get everything in order. The woman was only five-foot-four, but in her three-and-a-half inch taupe Lulu Bebe slouch boots, black draped skirt and cashmere caramel Trina Turk cowl-neck poncho, she looked too professionally calm not to be angry. Temari nibbled her lip as Shikamaru stared at some distant point above all the chaos.

Suddenly, there was a crash and Hinata jumped. All three whipped around to see a team of men scrambling to collect shards of a cut-crystal Tiffany vase. The one Hinata had ordered so that there would be one on every table, with a single red rose blooming in the middle. It would have looked very elegant, had they not now be one vase short. Hinata looked ready to burst into tears as the man apologized about a million times for the inconvenience.

Temari reached out and placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder, her glossed lips stretched into a soft smile of comfort. "Don't worry Hinata-kun. We can order another one."

Hinata's shoulders drooped as she reached up and pressed the tips of her fingers to her forehead. "You don't understand, Temari-chan. Those vases cost me two-hundred dollars—_each_. It's not that simple, unfortunately." She frowned as Shikamaru held up his checkbook. "They will put us eight hundred dollars over budget."

"What?!" Temari stared at her in shock, her mouth wide open. "H-how did we get that far over budget?"

"Well," Hinata pulled a small purple spiral notebook from her black Marc Jacobs tote bag. "There were the extra roses we had to pay for, which was two-hundred and put us fifty dollars over, then you suggested we get the vases for the tables, which put us quite a few hundred over, then there were the rose petals for the bedroom—Oops, shouldn't had said that . . ." She eyed the notes for a moment before give a sigh and dropping the notebook back into her purse. "Anyways, we're way over budget."

Temari reached out and grabbed the nearest man to her, growling in English in his face. "You tell your boss he's paying his OWN money for that vase. And he better get the right one, understood? He is not to show his face until that vase if paid for, starting the minute you tell him, got it?"

The man nodded and she let him go, watching as he scrambled away. Shikamaru shook his head. "So threatening."

She rolled her eyes and looked to Hinata who was frowning. "Shut up. And I believe that takes care of our situation."

Hinata brushed her blue/black bangs to the side and nodded. "Yes, it does. But he'll probably never want to work with us again."

Temari dismissed the statement with a wave of her manicured head, the peridot gemstone in her engagement ring sparkling in the winter morning light. "Oh, he'll deal. I bet we're his best paying customers."

Hinata nodded and headed towards the tall arched walnut double doors. "That's true. Thankfully, the wedding location should be finished. This is just for the reception. I needed to find a big enough place for all one-hundred guests to dance and have enough room to maneuver for tables and chairs and such." She looked over her shoulder and sighed. "I'm just thankful that this place is large enough."

"Don't worry," Shikamaru said lazily, walking out behind his fiancé. "Soon, there will be another--Oomph!"

Hinata whipped around and stared as Temari slapped a hand over his mouth, glaring at him. "What were you saying, Shikamaru-kun?"

"_Nothing_," Temari said, narrowing her eyes at Shikamaru. "I'm sure he meant _nothing_."

Hinata shook her head, causing her ponytail to swish and turned around heading down the narrow hallways of the building. "Choji-kun has some cake samples he wants you to try out. And then we have to chose a menu." She sighed, pulling out her Blackberry Storm. "Hanabi has to make a few alterations. The order for the shoes should be in." Her eyes widened and she whipped around. "Omigosh! The tuxedos!"

Temari watched as her friend speed dialed the tailor, converting to Japanese as she babbled away. "I know I should feel panicky right now, because you know, it's our wedding and all, but I think Hinata's got that covered for us."

Shikamaru gave her a lazy look. "Personally, I think you should feel ashamed for saying that."

She punched his shoulder and he shot her a glare. "Shut up, you lazy bastard." She rushed after Hinata in her tan suede round-toed Versace pumps.

"You're marrying this lazy bastard!" he called after her before sighing and following after them in his regular lazy jaunt.

-

"Oh. My. God!" Temari wrapped Choji in a tight hug, ignorant to his blush. "Did I ever tell you that you are amazing? I mean it, man! You're awesome! Amazing! Darling!"

Shikamaru gave him a lazy smile. "Thanks man, again."

Hinata sighed and tossed him a soft smile before walking to a desolate corner to talk into her phone. Choji frowned as she walked away, turning to Shikamaru. "Is she all right? She looks really tired."

"It's called being a wedding planner." Shikamaru eyed Temari as she began searching through one of Choji's restaurant menu. "She's got a lot on her mind, what the company and everything else. And the ballroom where the reception is being held is _complete_ chaos. They even dropped one of the Tiffany vases. Two hundred dollars—each."

Choji cringed before shaking his head. "That's brutal. Especially if she was just renting them for the occasion."

Shikamaru shook his head, shoving his hands into the pockets of his dark rinse Calvin Klein jeans. "I feel sorry for her. Along with going global and being the first woman to run the Hyuga Inc., she's got a lot on her agenda. This is only adding to her pressure."

"So you're feeling guilty?" Choji inquired, raising an eyebrow as Shikamaru rubbed his neck. For a second, they were both quiet, watching Hinata she began to gesture and groan a lot more. Shikamaru sighed. "I don't know, but I do know that if I don't stop Temari now, she'll eat you out of house and home."

Choji blinked and stared at the empty plates on the table. "Oh. Okay then."

-

Hinata tugged up her sweetheart neckline, reaching behind her neck and pulling on the strings that were connected to the dress. Hanabi had decided strapless was going by far too sexy for a _wedding_ and had added straps to the dress. Now, they were sexy, light-blue halter top _gowns_, with dropped waists and possibly a white band of silk around the hemline. It was very pretty, but it was making Hinata restless, the way Hanabi kept adding things on and taking things off. The dresses should have been done a _month_ ago.

Hanabi frowned, facing her sister. "I'm not happy."

"Hanabi," Hinata sighed, reaching back and undoing the strings. "They're beautiful, really. Gorgeous, in fact. Please, don't say that. I've got too much to deal with. I don't need you adding on and taking off anymore."

"Yeah," Ino said, lifting the light blue skirt of the gown and revealing the many layers of tulle to make the dress puff up. "I mean, seriously! I liked them better when--,"

"No!" Hinata put a hand up and lifted her skirt, stepping down from the stool she had to stand on. "Please, don't, Ino-chan. I know you're being helpful, but it's not needed. They're perfect Hanabi, honestly." She gave her younger sister a smile and quickly padded across the hotel room to the bed where her clothes were. "Perfectly perfect."

Sora nodded, smiling at Hanabi. "I like them. And what's even better about is that I can wear it again. I've got a lot of functions that require this type of dress."

Hanabi nodded, seemingly unconvinced. "Okay then. I guess I can get them to you by tomorrow. Is that okay?"

Hinata pulled down her white cami, smiling brightly. "Perfect, Hanabi. Just in time too. I really think this is going to go as planned."

"That's good," Sakura slid out of her dress like the rest of the girls, revealing her slip. "I was afraid something might happen and we wouldn't be able to do anything."

TenTen sucked in a breath. "Don't say that! You might jinx us!"

"Oh!" Sakura placed a hand over her mouth as Ino and Temari burst into laughter. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Hinata sighed, placing a hand on her forehead. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan. I've had to deal with worse."

"Yeah," Ino winked at Hinata, pulling on her large white floral tunic over her light gray skinny jeans. "She's dating _Uchiha Sasuke_, remember? If you can deal with _that_, you can deal with _any_thing."

Hinata ignored their laughter as she grabbed her vibrating purse. Her eyes widened at the caller ID and quickly answered, placing one finger in her ear to block out the nose.

"Hinata," Hiashi's voice was surprisingly calm but demanding. Whatever he had to say was important. "Can you be home in a day?"

It wasn't a question. It was an order in demand.

* * *

Oooooooh, that's what you're doing. You're wondering what's gonna happen next. You're wondering why Hiashi called, aren't ya?

Well, that's for me to know and for you to know why XD

I know, a cliff hanger (is it?) But you have to understand, I need to keep you on the edge of your seat! How else can you keep reading? Everything isn't going to go perfect^^ And I know, it's supposed to be yen, but I messed up, so imagine she ordered from where they are, okay?

I know, I'm so evil. Deal. XD ~CocoaAngel95 is outtie :]


	28. And Hiashi Is In The Building

I'm so sorry this is late! I know, it's been nearly a month and I'm such a bitch! Please don't hate me!

Good news though! I saved money on my auto insurance by switching to Gieco XD LOL, naw, just joking.

Schools out! Means there's gonna be more! w00t!

_**

* * *

****Five Days Before Wedding Date: Panic Zone**_

Hinata clenched and unclenched her fists in her black leather-gloved hands, glaring at the bright blue sky. It was fifteen degrees outside; she was still cold in her black corduroy trench coat with a fur-lining (an H Designs) and the fact that the coldest person in the world (i.e. her father) was coming to the resort for a meeting was not helping her mood. Right now, she was in need of hot sex, hot chocolate and a good romance novel. Crossing her arms, she placed up an emotionless mask, mimicking Sasuke who currently stood beside her half-asleep, and mentally prepared herself for her father's onslaught as she, Sasuke and Neji watched the private jet land.

The amazing thing was that her father actually agreed to fly to the resort so they could have the press conference there. Not only did it save her time (if she flew back, she'd have to get six hours sleep because of the jetlag, another two hours for to prepare notes and another hour to memorize her speech. Basically she needed a whole day) but they also were able to stay for the wedding and get to see some sights.

She reached up and ran a gloved hand through her indigo hair, the big waves Hanabi had decided on rippling around her the shoulders of her long trench coat. No amount of faux fur or silk lining stuffed to the brim with down-feathers was going to keep her warm. Somehow, the bitter air always managed to find a way into her coat, making her shiver constantly.

As the plane touched down, she began her assent towards what she was sure to be hell. Focusing on her the sound of her short boots clicking across the pavement, she ignored the man telling her to step back and stood at the base of the stairs attaching themselves to the plane. She wanted an explanation from her father and what happened right after; because she was sure she would have to hire another personal assistant . . . _again_.

The first person to step out of the plane was . . . definitely not her father or Fuguka. In fact, it was a woman, dressed in a navy toggle button coat and black polished straight jeans, a pair of brown Uggs stopping just below her knees. Hinata's mask fell as she stared at the woman. And suddenly, she was smiling, rushing up the stairs two at a time. This woman looked exactly (well not exactly) like Sasuke, save for the years of wrinkles. But she was in short supply of those. Ah, cosmetics. God bless them.

"You must be Mikoto-san!" Hinata smiled brightly, paying no mind to the cold air as she huffed.

"You must be Hinata-chan," Mikoto smiled back, her black eyes sparkling like the gemstones they represented. "It's an honor to finally meet the woman who's wooed my Sa-chan."

Hinata giggled as they hugged, ignorant to the glare directed at her. "Sa-chan hmm?" She glanced over her shoulder at Sasuke. "I like it."

"No you don't," he growled, glaring at her as he marched up the stairs.

Mikoto patted his shoulder, smiling warmly. "Oh, hush up you. It's been so long since I've seen you. Give your mama a hug."

Hinata smiled brightly as Sasuke sighed, holding out his arms for Mikoto. He was like a big soft toy when Mikoto was around, a soft (really soft, so soft you could barely see it) smile gracing his face. It was probably the only time Hinata would see that smile when Mikoto was around. Her own smile faltered on her face as she thought about it. Would she ever be able to make him smile like his mother was able to?

"Hinata." She blinked, turning to face her father. He looked utterly warm in a dark brown corduroy trench-coat, his long hair tied back from his stern face. She forced all emotion from her face and nodded at him. Any and all love was perpetually gone from this relationship. In the back of her mind, she wondered if there was any love to begin with.

She nodded to Fuguka and then Itachi before turning around and heading down the stairs. "Come. We have lots to discuss and possibly not enough time to discuss them. Tomorrow is the press conference and if we can't get anything done _today_, we are basically fucked."

She ignored their surprised faces (all except Sasuke, who was smirking proudly) as she turned away from them. "We need to keep things simple, as I see it. They're going to want to pry and pry deep, dig out any kind of dirt to make us seem like the bad guy. We need to keep things quick and fast. Be in, be quick, and be out in a simple matter of minutes. Nothing too descriptive, but nothing too primitive." She yanked open the Ford Flex's door, looking over her shoulder at them. "Any questions, comments or complaints?"

"Where will we be staying?" Hiashi slid into the seat across from her, as the inside was designed like a limo.

She held up four key cards. "That's alreayd covered. Mikoto and Fuguka will be in the Navy Suite, father in the Red Suite, and Itachi in the Green Suite."

Itachi cocked an eyebrow at his card. "The Green . . . Suite."

"Ignore the names," Neji sighed. "I got the Pink suite and it is anything _but_ pink."

While Itachi chuckled, Hinata pulled a laptop from under her seat, getting right down to business. "Now, I've already started on notes, but I'm afraid they're not going to be enough." She looked to Hiashi. "I presume you have some as well?"

"Of course," he answered, steepling his fingers. "But we can go over those later."

"Over breakfast," she said, pulling off her gloves in the toasty atmosphere of the car to check her Gucci wrist watch. "You'll have enough time unpack, get settled, sleep and then come down for breakfast."

"My, my," Mikoto smiled and Hinata let her mask slip for just a second. "You're so professional." She smiled at Sasuke. "You said she was a complete airhead. I thought your priorities had changed."

Hinata pressed her lips together as she gathered energy to shoot Sasuke a glare, who stared emotionless at his mother. "I said she had her moments. Not that she was a complete airhead."

"And since when did you find time to talk?" Fuguka narrowed his eyes accusingly at his son. "I should have known you would leave Hinata to arrange everything."

"Fuguka," Hinata said, giving him a hard look. "This is not the time for criticism. We are on the verge of being successful and you stopping our train to scold Sasuke helps us _none_. He will learn in time. So please, take your attention of the _problems_ and focus of the _solution_."

"You should feel ashamed," Itachi chuckled as Mikoto frowned.

"_You_ should feel ashamed as well, Itachi-san," Hinata snapped, causing the whole car to look at her. "Did you do _anything_ I asked you do while I was away? I'm sure the whole company is wondering why the whole top floor of the building is MIA right now because of the memo you _forgot_ to send." She cracked her knuckles, the anger building in her system as she glared around the car. "Honestly, I pray for you. There is not _one person_ in this car that can do _anything_ right."

Sasuke rolled his neck, crossing his arms nonchalently. "What's got you so pissy?"

"I'm not _pissy_," she huffed, steam practically rolling out of her ears. "I am just _stressed, tired and hungry_. I do not have the energy for this melodrama and criticism unless it is going to _better_ our chances of having something go _right_ for _once_."

He looked her right in the eye, taking her face in his hands, the whole car watching them. "You need to lie down and go to sleep."

She sighed and did as she was told.

-

**_Four Days Before Wedding Date: Panic Zone_**

Hinata glared at her laptop, a pair of black wire-rimmed glasses perched on her dainty nose. In the golden glow of the lamp, she sat in a chair at the breakfast table, trying to come up with a good enough answer sheet for the press conference. She was lucky the people had agreed to this location, probably because there was sure to be a lot of tension in the air what with the wedding. Of course they would gobble that up.

She sighed, stretching out her bare legs under the round table. Sasuke hadn't wasted time when they got back to the hotel room, making sure she didn't do a thing until it was nearly three in the morning. In just a five-sizes-too-big stripped sweater and her underwear, she was left alone to work on things. Unfortunately, her mind took this time to wander down the events of the day.

Hiashi had landed around nine that night and was just a floor above her, one room over. Barely any of her friends knew why they had arrived early, except Shikamaru and Temari. She hadn't had a thing to eat, because of Sasuke. And now she mind was wandering.

With a sigh, she closed the top of laptop. Things just weren't going as she hoped. The wedding was, technically, in four days. People would be arriving tomorrow and possibly even today. She had press conference in six hours and she wasn't even prepared for it.

_My life sucks_, she thought, turning off the lamp and crawling into bed next to Sasuke. _When am I ever going to get a chance to relax?_

-

Hinata woke to the sound of running water. She closed her eyes again with a frustrated sigh, her face slamming back into her down-filled pillow. She felt like she had been knocked out with a burlap sack of bricks and left to lie on the ground. Her mind was foggy with incoherent thoughts and it felt as if any sleep she had gotten had suddenly been drained out of her with a silly straw in a random color such as hot pink.

"Turn it off," she groaned loudly, her voice muffled by her pillow as she pulled the covers over her head. She let out a grateful sigh as the shower cut off. But the will to sleep soon evaded her and she growled (Sasuke was rubbing off on her) sitting up. Sasuke stood over her, dressed in a pair of unbuttoned dark rinse jeans with a towel draped over his dripping head. He raised an eyebrow at her messy hair and the sweater lying on the ground beside the bed.

"You should get ready," he turned around, towel drying his hair. "You've got possibly thirty minutes before we have to go."

"What?!" Hinata rushed out of the bed, slipping out of her underwear and into the bathroom. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" She rushed out of the bathroom naked, going through drawers as she waited for the water to heat up for her shower.

He smirked at her as she rushed back into the bathroom, pulling on a white button-down shirt. "Because you looked _sooo_ peaceful."

She poked her head out, the panic evident in her wide lilac eyes. "That's not funny, Sasuke! I could be totally prepared and could have even spared a minute if you had woken me up!"

"Don't worry about it," Sasuke picked up a manila folder off the breakfast table. "We're covered."

"How so?" She eyed the folder, still naked in the bathroom's doorway.

He raised an eyebrow. "What? Do you not trust me?"

She turned around swiftly, slamming the door behind her. He chuckled to himself, dropping the folder back on the table. "Of course you do."

-

Hinata blinked as Mikoto stood before her. They almost looked the same, dressed in black Armani suits. Except, Mikoto's was a skirt suit and she had on ivory stockings with a pair of black suede pointed-toe pumps. Hinata wore a belted pants suit, the slacks trimmed by Hanabi so that her black satin Jimmy Choo slides would show nicely. Mikoto's hair was in a tight chignon and Hinata's was in a tight French braid, but the effect was the same; power.

"Oh, Mikoto," Hinata smiled, both bowing at the same time. "I didn't know you were going to sit in with us."

"Hai," Mikoto smiled and both headed towards the double walnut doors of the conference room. "Fuguka thought it would be appropriate for the first lady to be here as well."

"The first lady?" Hinata asked questioningly, looking to Mikoto.

"That's what he calls me," Mikoto smiled back warmly. "When he first started the Uchiha franchise, I was right beside him in all the meetings, then I got pregnant with Sasuke and I decided to stay home with the boys."

She took Hinata's hands in hers. "It's so nice to have another girl around."

"Hai," Hinata nodded. "I'll have to introduce you to the others. They would love nothing more than to hear about Sasuke's childhood."

Quickly, they dropped their hands as the men appeared. Hinata steeled herself, fixing her already straight posture and pasting a small smile on her red lips. If this were reality TV, her life would have been a smash hit.

* * *

So did you enjoy that? I hope you did! I know, you still hate me . I made you wait.

Deal wit it XD

I'm outtie ~ CocoaAngel95 :]


	29. Bruised Hips and Swollen Lips

So, I'm deciding to be nice today. And I haven't written a scene in _forever and a day._

Yeah, y'all know what I'm talking about. This is because I was reading one of my mother's books (props to Mary B. Morrison: Sweeter Than Honey. You got some skills girl XD)

You can thank her for putting my mind in the gutter.

So here we are: Chapter 29! w00t! Suggestion: as you read this fanfic, listen to Britney Spears "Break The Ice" I know, she's crazy, but this song is worth it and totally fits "the scene" ^^

**_

* * *

_**

**_Four Days Before Wedding Date: Panic Zone_**

Hinata couldn't have been happier in the moment. Hearts for eyes, she stared around the finished reception room. All five-hundred square feet was decorated to perfection. There was a cut-crystal glass vase on each table, with a cream linen table cloth underneath. The blue tulips and red roses mingled beautifully in the vases. It smelled like love was dancing in the air. Hinata couldn't have been a more pleased woman.

She reached inside her dark blue MARC by Marc Jacobs tote and quickly scribbled a check for a ten-thousand (her own money) and handed it to the contractor, smiling warmly. "You work wonders my friend. Consider yourself an official contractor for Hyuga and Uchiha Co-Op."

The man tipped his hat and she decided to let him slide on staring at her chest. "It's an honor ma'am."

She twisted on the spike heel of her reddish-brownish Coach suede slouch boots, practically skipping out of the room. Temari and Shikamaru would flip the minute they saw this room. And the ceremony room, which was just down the street. This was turning into the best day of her life.

Reaching into her bag, Hinata pulled out her LG Vu and speed dialed Temari, a warm smile on her face as she slid her coat over her dark blue slim-fit Calvin Klein crew top.

"Yo," Temari answered and Hinata could hear the post-sex huskiness in her voice. Not only did this hit her, but she realized what she was going to do when she went back to the hotel.

"Everything is ready," she said, yanking open the door to her rented wine red Lexus RX 350. "All we need is the guest and I'm going over to Choji's to see if he's got the menu down."

"Perfect," Temari purred happily and Hinata smiled. "You're a wonder, Hinata-kun. I couldn't do shit without you beside me."

Hinata chuckled softly, one hand controlling the wheel as the other held the phone to her ear. "Oh, that's not true."

"It is! You're like a pillar. I'm sure every single one of has leaned on you once before. You're too good for your _own_ good."

Hinata smiled, merging with traffic as her eyes scanned the roads. "You're making me blush. I've had to lean on my friends as well. They're probably the only reason I'm still standing these days."

"Yeah, but now you've got Sasuke and I can just tell he's here to stay." Temari paused then said hurriedly, "I'll talk to you later, Hinata-kun. I got my own business to take care of. Shika! Baby!"

Hinata shook her head and dropped the connection before tossing the phone into her bag. Temari was a riot, doing things as she pleased. She and Ino were the same, and yet totally different. Temari was more laid back, less likely to bite your head off for telling her something was wrong, unless it had something to do with her and especially if it was really bad.

She sighed, running a hand through her hair as she stopped at a light. Putting her raven-fine tresses into a ponytail, she watched the light as it blinked red. Sometimes, she wished she had that kind of personality. To be able to take any situation and turn it around so that it seemed like everything was going to be just fine, even when it wasn't.

-

Hinata giggled to herself as Sasuke shivered to her butterfly touch. She had straddled his waist and was slowly working his top off while planting kisses along his neck, then his chest, then his sculpted stomach. For a brief moment, she wondered how at twenty-eight, he managed to keep toned and sexy and irresistible. It was kind of like . . .

_No, don't go there, Hinata. You might regret it,_ she reprimand herself gently, nibbling on Sasuke's bottom lip. Tonight, she was in power, and if he was going to try and fight for it, he was surely going to lose.

"Mmm," she mumbled softly, one knee between his legs, gently massaging the most sensitive part of a man, his inner thigh. She giggled as his sexy arms pulled her closer, his breath getting ragged and filled with lust. It was so evident in the way he held her. He totally wanted her. But she liked this game. He did it all the time. Why couldn't she?

Giggling, she tugged her shirt off, taking her ponytail down as well. Her hair tumbled to her shoulders as the strap to her black lacy Cosabella brazier slowly slipped down her shoulder, the creamy skin following it closely. She loved the way Sasuke's intense eyes roamed all over her body, trying to drink in every inch of her. It was delicious.

She smirked (it came easy now, especially with Sasuke as her tutor) twisting a strand of hair around her finger. "You want this, don't you?" She leaned forward, simultaneously undoing her bra. It slid from her body and she let herself stop just inches above him, one hand on either side of his head. Sasuke's eyes were caught between her plump, creamy breasts and her hypnotic eyes. And she was enjoying every second of it.

Reaching under her, she gently massaged his crotch, feeling his member hardening at her touch. She chuckled, more from the _joy_ of torturing her boyfriend with her body than because it was _funny_. "It's hard isn't it?"

And then they were rolling and she gasped as Sasuke pinned her to the bed. A pout crossed her rosy lips as she stared up at him. She had _total_ control until he decided enough was enough. Couldn't he let her enjoy what control she _thought_ she had?

A moan escaped her lips as he suckled her nipple, rolling the other between his fingers. Waves of pleasure washed over her and she closed her lips, trembling. The heat gathered between their bodies and she moaned again as his hand slid under her skirt, massaging her clit through her thong. More trembles as she let another moan, this one louder than the last, slip past her lips.

_This is revenge_, she reasoned as she clenched her already tight muscles, keeping her legs pressed together. And then: _We should just go with the S & M route, the way we keep going. I can work a leather teddy._

The orgasm hit her like the waves of the ocean breaking over the beach. She let his name hang in the air, panting from the little detour to ecstasy. Being with Sasuke felt almost too good! Hadn't they done this last night? And about four days ago, when they first came here?

The thought was pushed from her mind as she skirt left her hips, along with her thong. Sasuke slid between her legs, smirking down at her. Oh, how she loved that smirk. How it made his gemstone eyes sparkle like the night sky lit up with stars. That was her smirk, she reasoned. Mikoto couldn't make him smirk like she could.

His hands slid down her slim waist to her hips, pulling her up and over to straddle his waist again. Smiling down at him, she wondered if this was how things would always be this way between them. If they would always be together. Slowly, she massaged his member between her walls, letting the tension build up. She was going to make his eyes roll into the back of his head, no doubt about it.

Leaning forward, she tightened her legs around his waist, slowly picking up speed. With a smirk, she whispered huskily into his ear. "I'm going to make you wish you hadn't done that."

The shivers running down his back made her giggle, bringing herself up and down. And suddenly, she was giving him much more than he expected. She moaned and cried out with every thrust and gripped his shoulders. His nails into her waist as he rode along, wave after wave of pleasure washing over them both.

The next orgasm they came at the same time, Hinata's legs tightening around his waist. She could feel the bruises forming on her hips and no doubt when she went to join TenTen for kick-boxing, she was going to have questions. Everyone was just waiting for the moment when Sasuke would fuck up and they could prove to her he was no good.

Her shoulders hunched as she panted, her body trembling in the few moments she had left to feel the orgasm. Sasuke's eyes were closed and his sweaty chest was heaving up and down. A slow smile crept along her lips as she crawled to his side, bending down to his ear.

"You awake?" she asked softly, her breath hot against his already flushed face.

"Not really," he mumbled back, too tired to open his eyes.

"That's a shame," she pouted and he turned his head, his hooded obsidian eyes questioning her. "I bought some new negligee and I wanted you to test it out."

A smirk crossed his lips, the same one from early. It made her shiver with pleasure as he spoke, one eyebrow raised at her. "Oh?"

-

_**Three Days Before Wedding Date: Panic Zone**_

TenTen eyed Hinata's bruised hips with a raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

Hinata blinked, glancing down at her wet body. She shook her head, towel-drying her hair. "Nothing."

"That's not _'nothing'_, Hinata-kun!" TenTen screeched just as Ino and the rest came in from their showers. "What did he do to you?"

"Do what to whom?" Sora asked before blushing at the bruises on Hinata's hips, tightly wrapping her body in a fluffy white towel. "Oh. Oh my."

Hanabi smirked, gripping onto Sora's towel. "Oh my indeed." And just as suddenly, Hanabi ripped the towel off, revealing Sora's own bruised hips.

As the other's gaped, Ino shook her head, snapping her fingers. "Dammit! It's always the quiet ones."

Sora grabbed her towel back, looking to Hinata. "P-please don't-,"

"Iie," Hinata giggled, smiling as she pulled on her underwear. "I understand. Shino will be good for you."

"Except in _bed_!" Hanabi laughed, dodging her sister's look. "Good God! Maybe I should look for a quiet brunette, eh?"

* * *

TenTen's just jealous! She can't get none of that from Neji XD He's too _sensitive, _my ass XD

Dirty, dirty love. XD Don't you just love me?

So anyways, I hope you enjoyed. Because I sure as hell did! XD

See ya on the flip side of my luxurious jet ~CocoaAngel95 :]


	30. And The Stress Is On

OMG! IT'S HERE!

CHAPTER 30! Praise thy Lord XD (NO OFFENSE TO THOSE OUT THERE)

I'm really excited to say that we are OFFICIALLY at 30 chapters!

Can U Dig It? :]

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**Two Days Before Wedding Date: Panic Zone**

Sasuke watched as his girlfriend, for the fifth time in the last hour or so, ran out of the suite. Only to return a few minutes later, carrying files to and fro. Wherever fro was.

She had been doing this all day, her three-inch heels padding across the decorative carpet of the room and the carpet. He was sure she had worn a trail into the carpet by now. If he followed it, he could find out where she was going. She was constantly moving, muttering nonsense that only _she_ could understand to herself. And for the past _hour_, she hadn't said a _single_ word to him. This was annoying, as he found out.

Either she was _deliberately_ ignoring him or there was something going on. And he be damned if another person was seeing his girlfriend more than he was. Not fucking happening.

On the sixth trip, he stood up from the chocolate-brown suede sofa and crossed the room in one movement. The door slammed shut and Hinata jumped three feet in the air, a hand landing on her chest over her hammering heart.

She turned around and squeaked as she was pinned to the wall, Sasuke's obsidian eyes boring into hers.

"I-is there something you n-need, Sasuke?" she asked, looking anywhere but at him. Sasuke observed her silently, until she sighed and gave up trying to get away. He spent five hours working out everyday. It wasn't going to be an easy fight to get away from him.

"What are you doing?"

Her head snapped up, her lavender-tinted orbs wide with shock. "What? Is that all you wanted to know?" Swiftly, she ripped her wrists from his weakened grasp and slipped past him, checking on her files. "I'm just checking things out with Shikamaru-kun and Temari-chan on the wedding. There are some things we have to clear up before everything is ready."

Silence greeted her ears. No snarky reply. No sarcastic answer. No deadpanned question. No monotone humor. Hinata blinked and turned to see Sasuke settling back down on the sofa, clearly satisfied with her answer. She sighed and grabbed the files. "I'll be back in a little bit."

"No."

She stopped mid-step. "What? Why?"

He reached up and pulled her down, causing all the papers from her files to fall to the ground. Sasuke wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and trapping her to his body. She frowned as he continued watching soccer like this is what they always did during this time of day.

"I have to work you know."

"I know." He grabbed the remote, his arm still around her. "And _you_ should know I don't give a damn."

"That's really mean." She pouted softly, looking to him. "What if something happens-?"

"Then something happens," he deadpanned, flicking through the many satellite channels. "I'm sure you'll be prepared."

"Not if this keeps up," Hinata pointed out, eyeing him.

"That's a damn shame then," he stated, dropping the remote on the glossy espresso brown end table beside his head, "because I'm not letting you go. So get comfortable."

"You're acting really childish," she replied.

"Do you think I care?" he raised an eyebrow, his eyes barely focusing on the big forty-three inch plasma screen hovering over the espresso brown entertainment station.

"No."

"Then you've learned."

-

Temari yanked open the door to Hinata and Sasuke's suite with enough force to lasso the moon and pull it into obrit. Her sea-foam green eyes were met with the sight of them cuddling on the sofa. She dropped a twenty and a five in the bellhop's gloved hand and grabbed the cart loaded with casserole away from him, not caring for his protesting. She was in a mood and if he kept it up, he'd find out just how terrifying a woman in a mood could be.

Hinata's head full of raven-fine waves was propped on Sasuke's chest, both focusing on the television. She was all cozy in her slate blue Mui Mui cowl-neck poncho and dark rinse denim skirt, nestled against her hubby. Temari felt like snapping the porcelain pair in _half_. It wouldn't have helped anyone, especially Hinata or/and Sasuke, but it would sure make _her_ feel better.

"Hinata!" the dirty blond barked, marching across the carpet, tray in toe, in her beige to-the-knee Uggs pulled over her gray wash Miss Sixty super skinny jeans.

The pair barely parted, Hinata shifting to she could stay close to Sasuke and look at Temari. "Can I help you, Temari-chan?"

"_I thought we were planning my wedding_," she growled, shooting Sasuke a rivaling glare.

"What crawled up your ass?" Sasuke replied, sitting up on his elbows. "The wedding's been planned. Everything's set. _Can you go now_?"

"No!" Temari screeched, completely oblivious to the fact that the suite door was open and just about every door in the hall opened up at the sound of her voice rebounding off the walls. "It _is_ not finished! You were _supposed_ to _help me finish up_!"

Hinata furrowed her brow. "Temari-chan, please lower your voice. It does no good to scream."

The twenty-nine year-old huffed, dropping into the opposite chocolate-brown suede armchair. "We still have a few people _missing_! I told them to be here _three days before_ the wedding! Where _are_ they?!"

"Not here, I presume," Sasuke deadpanned. Temari looked ready to cry in frustration. Hinata sat up, smoothed down her static-y hair and walked over to her stressed out friend. Soothingly, Hinata spoke softly to her, rubbing her shoulder and smiling warmly. Sasuke watched impatiently, fuming silently from the lack of warmth on his stomach. Some people were just so lucky.

With a final frustrated sigh, Temari marched out of the room, but not without a comment. She shoved the cart in front of them and placing her hands on her hips, deadpanned, "_Bon appetite_."

Sasuke rolled his eyes as Hinata smiled softly. "Thank you, Temari. Now _leave_."

-

Shikamaru sighed, leaning on his golf club in the miniature golf course, Sasuke, Naruto, and Chouji beside him. "I'm tired."

"Aren't you always tired?" Naruto commented before glaring at Kiba. "You don't get another turn, you jack-off! That's it!"

"Not-uh, numbnuts!" Kiba snapped back, glaring at him. "That was a _dud_, and you know it! I get another chance!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as Chouji laughed. "Idiots."

"Yeah, well, they're _our_ idiots. Might as well let them enjoy life before it kicks them in the ass," Shikamaru said, lighting a cigarette, ignorant to the No Smoking sigh above his head. There about a dozen other's doing the same in the muggy atmosphere. "It's better than going upstairs to Temari."

"Why?" Chouji eyed his friend worriedly. "She alright? It looked like she wasn't too happy this morning."

"I got the brunt of it already," Sasuke grunted around his unlit cigarette. He had the strange feeling that Mikoto was somewhere frowning down at him for even _having_ the damn thing on his lips.

"She _woke up_ cranky," Shikamaru stated lazily. "I wake up and she's glaring at me like _I_ did something to _her_."

"Did you ever stop to think she was pissed _because_ of you?" Sasuke commented, not even trying to look interested.

Chouji shook his head. "Maybe she's just not feeling well?"

"I doubt it," Shikamaru muttered, exhaling a thick cloud of smoke. "Last night was all fun. Now she's stomping around-,"

"Shikamaru!" All four whipped around to face Temari as she marched through the course. Her eyes were blazing and Sasuke watched as Shikamaru's face, for the briefest second, seemed almost _afraid_ to greet the mad woman.

_Pathetic _was the word that came to mind.

So he decided to play hero. One; because he was going to have to do it anyway, and two; it was an absolute pleasure of his to annoy the hell out of this bridezilla.

"Yo," Sasuke took no time in getting started. "Your panties still in a bunch?"

"I don't wear panties," Temari growled, clearly too pissed to care for the blush adorning her fiancé's cheeks. "I wear a thong."

"Solid or animal print?" Sasuke smirked as she blinked rapidly.

"Why do you want to know?!" she screeched, throwing her arms up and causing the whole course to look to her.

Naruto and Kiba were snickering softly as Sasuke shrugged. "I was just asking."

She eyed him curiously. "Why?"

"Just thought maybe the wolf print on them was making you a real bitch today." He smirked as Naruto and Kiba cracked up in laugther behind him, Shikamaru shaking his head with Chouji looking on worriedly.

Temari was shaking with anger. "I'm going to tell Hinata on you!"

"So?"

"And you are going to be in sooo much trouble!" she screeched, pointing a manicured finger at him before twisting around and stomping back across the large room. Shikamaru counted to five under his breath before she was back and tugging him by his arm, steam practically rolling out of her ears.

Sasuke turned back to a worried Chouji and laughing Naruto and Kiba. "I tried. Who's next?"

-

Hinata sighed as Shikamaru sat across from her, Temari crying into his chest. "I knew this was going to happen." She twisted her hair into a bun and slipped two chopsticks to hold it in place. "All this stress is getting to her."

She checked the face of her thin gold Gucci wrist watch. "It'll be okay, Temari-chan. Calm down, all right?"

Her eyes glittered in the afternoon sun as Temari continued to sniffle. "Here's what's going to happen. You're going to go to the spa, and for today and tomorrow, you will be pampered. You too, Shikamaru. I will book a whole day and half for you, so that you'll be ready for the wedding."

"You're so –hic!- nice, Hinata-kun!" Temari sobbed, going through another pack of Hinata's travel-sized Kleenex tissues. "No one's every –hic!- done something –hic!- this nice for –hic!- me! Please forgive –hic!- me!"

Hinata reached over and patted her friend's hand soothingly; not daring to look at Shikamaru's relieved expression because she would surely burst into laughter. "It's all right, Temari-chan. You're just stressed. The spa should help you two relax. I'll book everything. A car should be here in thirty minutes, okay?"

Temari nodded and Shikamaru smiled at her. "Thanks, again, Hinata-chan. You're a life saver."

"It's nothing," Hinata replied, thinking of the many times she had to book a three-day spa trip for Hiashi whenever _his_ face got too red. "I've been doing this a while now." She smiled as Shikamaru escorted Temari out of the restaurant before dropping her head in her hands and sighing. This was getting out of control. But then again, she had always managed in those situations.

She gasped and snapped up. The rehearsal dinner.

"Shit," she muttered, scrolling down her Blackberry Storm's screen. "How wonderful."

-

Naruto raised his hand in the air, his cerulean eyes glittering with a question. Hinata sighed, running a hand over her tight ponytail. "Yes, Naruto-kun?"

"Where's Temari and Shika?" he asked innocently.

Hinata cringed as the murmurs started before holding up her hands and requesting silence. "They are at the spa. So just pretend that me and Sasuke are Shikamaru and Temari for now. A little role-playing never hurt anybody."

"So, like, in a few months," Hanabi said, arching an eyebrow. Even though she was addressing everyone, everyone knew her message was for Sasuke, "this will be an actual rehearsal dinner for you two?"

Mikoto's warm black eyes looked from Hinata, who pressed a hand to her forehead, to Sasuke, who pressed his lips together as he glared at Hanabi. "What? I don't understand."

"And don't try to," Sasuke snapped, yanking out his chair.

Itachi chuckled beside Neji. "It seems as if my dear baby brother is _embarrassed_."

Hinata watched dejectedly as the table immediately went into poking fun at Sasuke, everyone having completely forgotten that this was for Shikamaru and Temari's wedding. At least they were sitting in their assigned spots.

She turned to Hiashi, who raised an eyebrow at her stressed expression. "I'm so tired."

He smirked, sipping his red wine. "Now you know how _my_ wedding night was."

* * *

So there you have it peps! I really hoped you enjoyed it!

Sadly, it's ALMOST time to say goodbye! In a few more chapters, this will no longer be! But I have to say, I'm really happpy!

This will probably end with 32, 33 chapters. Yeah, I know. That's _really_ close.

I'ma miss you! Keep a look out for my new stuff! ~CocoaAngel95 :] :3


	31. 3 Strippers and Cute Pizza Boys

Before you get all pissy at me, let me just say my computer broke. On my profile, if you haven't seen already, I've said it is busted. No longer do I have the same files nor the program to post chapters/stories. And I'm SORRY.

The only computer that DOES have the program I need DOESN'T have my original story on. So this isn't the original chapter. And I can't get the original chapter back either.

So, here's chapter 31 and don't expect my updating speed to be the same. Again, I am sorry.

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**_One Day Before Wedding Date: Panic Zone_**

Hinata gasped, snapping up. Her opulence eyes were wild, her inky black/blue hair a perfect example of a rat's nest and somehow, during the night, her clothes had landed on the floor in random places. She brought her hands to her face, checking out her raggedy nails and dry skin. The suite smelled suspiciously musky, almost as if men's cologne and women's perfume had mixed together not hours before. And sleepy Sasuke was naked beside her.

With a sigh, she crawled from bed, the love bites evident on her bare porcelain skin. She crossed the room, pulled on a white fluffy robe and grabbed a just as fluffy towel off the heated rack, twisting the knob to the shower on. There was so much to do and so little time to do. She still had to make sure everyone the guest list was here. The location of the wedding ceremony was being held was barely ready for Temari. And tonight was the bachelorette party.

Dejectedly, she stepped onto the cool tile of the shower, which was being rapidly heated by of the scalding hot water. But a pair of very toned arms wrapped around her tiny waist, a pair of knees knocking into her own so that they stumbled into the shower. Her eyes closed as she leaned back against Sasuke, hearing his half asleep mumblings of good morning.

Whatever they had done last night totally evaded her and for a brief moment, she wondered if he had spiked her drink. All she had was five cups of jasmine tea, two helpings of baked lime-kissed bass and one serving of everything that was had been laid out. Maybe the food had gotten to her brain? It had been a very romantic setting.

"Why are you up at such an ungodly hour anyways?" Sasuke mumbled, running a washcloth down her back.

She pursed her naturally pink lips, her eyes narrowing. "What time is it?"

"Eight thirty."

With a sigh, she twisted her already soaked hair into a bun on top of her head, only to realize she didn't have a clip. "That's not ungodly. It's just early."

"It _should_ be considered ungodly," he muttered darkly as she twisted around the small enclosure. "When are we going to be done with this wedding anyways?"

"Tomorrow," she responded, having switched positions with him. "We'll go home, spend a few days at a spa, relax and act like they've been married since forever."

"Sounds easy."

"It should be. I'm not in the mood for difficult." She smiled as he chuckled softly. "Now let's get out, because I'm pruney and in a few minutes, Temari-chan will be in here complaining missing people."

He pulled her back into his sexy arms, landing kisses along the sensitive curve of her neck. "No."

"Sasuke," she groaned, her eyes closing more from impatience than pleasure, even though it was nice. "Not now. I have a job to do. And unfortunately, I'm getting paid to do it."

"How's that _unfortunate_?" he grumbled after her, the water having been cut off and a towel wrapped around his waist.

She shook her head and pulled out the drawers to a tall dresser. "Never mind. Just get ready. Today, you and boys are to make sure Shikamaru has a good time. Can you do that for me?"

He nodded, crawling right back into bed. She watched him with a soft frown before pulling on a chocolate-brown cowl-neck sweater dress and Tory Burch dark rinse low-rise skinny jeans with a pair of chocolate brown crochet Uggs, twisting her hair into a lose French twist.

Grabbing her purse, she rushed out of the room and down the hallway. It was good a thing she had today mapped out. If it weren't for her Blackberry, she'd never get anything done on time.

-

"Temari-chan," Hinata said softly, knocking on the door. For a moment, nothing happened and she considered getting a person to come up here and open the door when it swung up. Shikamaru yawned loudly, dressed in nothing but a hunter green terry bathrobe.

"Oh!" she stepped back, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment. "Am-am I disturbing-?"

Hinata-kun?" Temari shoved Shikamaru to the side, already dressed in a light wash denim skirt, black cashmere turtleneck and black lace-up Oscar de la Renta to-the-knee stiletto boots. She smiled brightly, kissing Shikamaru cheek and skipping out of the room. "Let's go get the others! We'll hit up the spa and then we'll rent a hotel room somewhere else and act like little girls! We'll order pizza and make our own root beer floats . . ."

Hinata nodded, jotting down the notes in her Blackberry. "Sounds fun."

"It should be! This is my bachelorette party! It has to be fun!" She slammed her purse against the door of Sakura and Sora's room. "Wake up my pretties! It's time to party!"

-

Sasuke leaned against the bar, a cigarette in his mouth and a pair of platinum aviators perched on his straight nose. He had told everyone by text that in five minutes, there was going to be a Hummer stretch limo –thanks to Hinata- sitting at the front doors. And if they weren't downstairs by then, they were going to be left behind and miss out on all the fun. The fun being a dance club on the other side of town, then they were going to bar hop for a little bit and to top it all off, a party at the strip club with not one, not two but THREE strippers.

Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun.

He checked his watch face then the elevator, which opened up to reveal Shikamaru, Shino, Kiba, Chouji and Naruto. The one on the other side revealed Itachi, Lee, Neji and –le gasp- Fuguka and Hiashi. No one seemed affected by this except for Sasuke, whose right eyebrow had gone into rapid twitching, as they were all chatting like they were good friends. It was probably about the best scotch, because Hiashi and Fuguka knew all about that. Drinking scotch was their passion.

"Well," Sasuke muttered, shoving his hands into the pockets of his dark rinse Calvin Klein jeans. "Looks like everyone checks out." Turning on the heel of his expensive loafers, he power walked towards the front doors. "Just be glad you didn't miss your ride."

* * *

I know, I know. This is like the shortest chapter known to man! And trust me, I've seen shorter.

I just hope it was enough to satisfy you. The next one shall be bigger and the ending will shock you :]

Keep reading, my pretties! ~CocoaAngel95


	32. Waking Up Unsure

Here's Chapter 32! We've got at least two more before the end! And if things go right, you'll be back for more XD

Enjoy! :]

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**_The Day Of The Wedding: Panic Is Imminent _**

Sasuke groaned, cracking his eyes open to the bright light of morning. A stream of golden light fell through the beige curtains and he grunted into the down-filled pillow. And then the bed shifted, as if something, or someone was right beside him. He froze immediately, keeping his eyes closed. His mind raced frantically to find out if he done something last night to cause someone to come to bed with him.

The three strippers.

His throat closed up and panic set in. Hinata was going to murder him. Or wait, no, that's not it. Shino and Kiba and probably just about everyone else, would murder him. She would be off in a corner crying into Sora's shoulder. Except . . .

Except he had clothes on. Thank God.

He forced himself to calm down. He was over thinking things. Nothing had happened last night (right?) He just needed to breath. He needed to get a grip or he was going to do something seriously stupid. Like maybe walking out of the room and finding three strippers naked on the front room floor. Or finding several empty packets of condoms.

With that last thought shoved out of his mind, he rolled over, and came in contact with something. He shot up, managing to swallow back his yelp of surprise. There just weren't that many things in this world that could make him jump like that. Except . . .

Except for Naruto spread out across his bed.

"Idiot!" he screeched, his foot slamming into Naruto's stomach and sending them both careening off the bed. Immediately, he was on his feet, glaring down at a balled up Naruto on the other side of king sized bed. "_What the fuck?!"_

"Ah, Sasu-teme," Naruto whined pitifully, rubbing his sore hip. "Why did you do that? And I was having such a nice dream . . ."

"Why the _fuck_ were you in _my_ goddamn bed?!" Sasuke shuddered in disgust as Naruto stared blankly at him with red-rimmed eyes. "I don't even _want_ to know. Just get out." He yanked open the bedroom door to find the other's waking up in his front room. Thankfully, the strippers (and Hiashi and Fuguka) were gone.

"Okay," Sasuke growled as Naruto yawned beside him. "On the count of _three_, I want everyone out of those doors."

"Dude," Kiba smiled sleepily. "Last night was so fun."

"One!" Sasuke narrowed his eyes, holding up a slender finger to represent. "Two." The second finger came up and Naruto was rushing past him by the time the third went up.

"Three and thank you." He turned back around, slamming the door to his bedroom. And it was only five in the morning.

-

**_Eight Hours Until Wedding Ceremony: Panic Is Imminent_**

Hinata blinked sleepily, looking at Hanabi's sleeping face. A smile crossed her greasy face as she watched Hanabi breath through her mouth, the baby blue sleeping mask slanted haphazardly across her heart-shaped face. At only nine in the morning, Hinata hadn't felt more rested since . . .

Since her scandalous affair with Sasuke.

All restfulness slipped from her body and she sat up, wrapping herself in a loose hug. The complimentary baby blue silk robe hung off her slender figure, doing a bad job of covering her. Sasuke would appreciate it.

"Okay," she sighed, crawling from the fluffy white down comforter of the large bed, only to feel a shudder run up her back from the cool glassy white tile floor. The spa hotel was nice, with its whole soothing white and soft blues thing going on. A constant stream of soft, refreshing jazz seemed to fill the whole place up, wrapping you in a –what else?- refreshing cocoon of bliss.

Tightening the robe, she bounded out of the room and onto the ivory carpet of the front room. A huge, white circular couch sat in the middle of the room, with a white marble gas fireplace in front of it. The baby blue pillows had been thrown all over the room because Temari found it absolutely necessary to have a pillow fight--- in their underwear.

Which had been surprisingly fun. Hinata smiled, stepping over the digital camera Hanabi had used to take pictures. It just wouldn't be a wonderful night if the girls weren't pictured having serious fun. And the pictures weren't wired to everyone's phones.

"Hinata-kuuuun."

Hinata whipped around and quickly hurried towards the one of two bathrooms in the in the suite, biting her lip. "Temari-chan? Is that you?" She frowned, rushing towards her friend's side.

Temari's shoulders were hunched up, her fuchsia bra strap slipping down her shoulder. Hinata frowned, placing a newly French-manicured hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong, Temari-chan?"

Temari hiccupped, tears streaming down her flushed face, and flung herself into Hinata's lap, wailing at the top of her lungs. "What is he gonna say about this?! What am I gonna do?! What are _we_ gonna do?!"

"Do about what?" Hinata spoke softly, rubbing her back in soothing circles. "What is it Temari-chan?"

Temari hiccupped again, holding up the pregnancy test, more tears sliding down her cheeks and ruining Hinata's robe. "I'm pregnant."

-

_**Seven and a Half Hours Until Wedding Ceremony: Panic Is Imminent**_

Sasuke groaned, rolling over and reaching down for his LG Vu. His eyes slid to the alarm clock, sitting just inches from his nose. The neon blue numbers glowed and for a second, he considered letting his phone ring and just going back to sleep. It wouldn't be the first time he's done it. How else was he supposed to take a break?

And then Hinata's frown flashed through his mind and he scooped up the phone. He didn't want to have to deal with that when she got home. He had seen that woman angry before. It was not a nice place to be.

"Yes?" he mumbled, closing his eyes as he nestled back down from round two.

"Good morning, Sasuke. Can you do a quick favor for me."

He groaned, sitting up. "Do you have to?"

"It would be nice if you would. It won't take longer than twenty minutes." There was some kind of urgency behind her voice. Almost as if there was something pressing on the other side of the phone. Women and their drama. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, keeping quiet. She knew him well enough to know he was staying quiet for a reason.

She sighed, the sound coming out like static. "Don't . . . Don't worry about it. Knowing you, you'd tell Shikamaru just to spite him."

"I would _never_," he replied, rolling his eyes. "So what did the bitch do this time?"

"Sasuke!"

"I'm _sorry_," he mumbled, crawling from bed. "You're making _me_ get up and do _you_ a favor. You could at least let me have fun. I could go to bed right now if you want me to."

"You stayed up? What were you doing?"

He stared at the vanity mirror, his onyx eyes red-rimmed and his skin greasy. "No. I just didn't get a lot of sleep."

"Oh." She sighed heavily. "Okay then, I'll just ask Mikoto-san."

He eyed his reflection suspiciously. "My mother? For what?"

"Nothing. Can you just make sure everyone gets ready? I will call the limo company and they should be able to pick you up again. I just need you to make sure everyone gets dressed."

He sighed, falling back in bed. "Fine."

"Thank you. I love you."

He smirked, closing his eyes. "I love you too."

-

_**Three Hours Until Wedding Ceremony: Panic Is Imminent**_

Hinata nibbled her lip, pacing the length of the room, still dressed in her robe. She was busy trying to convince herself that they could easily get twelve bottles of apple cider; that it was a perfectly logical choice for a wedding; that no one would find out Temari was pregnant with her fiancé's baby just hours before the wedding.

She massaged her temples, feeling the knots and tension return to her back and shoulders. Mikoto had managed to find a place open at such an early time and Hanabi had been able to convince the dirty blond everything was peachy keen. The only one not celebrating Temari's recent discovery was Hinata, and she really should be because giving birth was a beautiful thing and only women had this power and she should be totally grateful for this power.

Her iris-tinted eyes fell on the box the pregnancy test was in. the very thought made her stomach roll. She knew there was a reason for why she shouldn't have planned Temari's wedding. And now she had found it.

Slipping into a dark rinse Calvin Klein skinny jeans, a black turtleneck and a pair of her Ugg boots, she hurried out of the hotel and into her car, rushing towards the nearest convenience store. Maybe if she found out, she'd be okay. Maybe she wouldn't be okay. But knowing would definitely soothe her mind. It was probably the only thing that could soothe her mind right now.

-

_**Thirty Minutes Until Wedding Ceremony: Panic Is Imminent  
**_

Sasuke watched as his girlfriend, for the third time, adjusted the order in which the groom's men and bride's maids entered. She just wasn't satisfied until everyone was with their respective partners, which they were, but she just couldn't resist adjusting their stance and their smile and their personality.

He sighed, pulling her away by her elbow. "All they have to do is stand there and look pretty. It's not that hard, Hinata."

She frowned, looking to Gaara, Hanabi and Kankuro, who were busy chattering, or Hanabi and Kankuro were. Gaara was just standing there, looking like the sexy emo he was. "I know but . . . I want everything to be perfect."

He gently ushered her towards Shino and Kiba. "Just remember to smile."

"Smile. Right."

He patted her head, smirking. "Good girl."

* * *

So, we're officially nearing the end! We're just a hair's breath away from touching bases with the end!

And let me tell you, the ending will SHOCK you. In a good way :]

It's gonna blow your mind! In the best way possibly XD

I'ma miss you! I loves ya! ~CocoaAngel95 :]


	33. Building The Dream Home

It's been a while since I've done a scene. I know you like 'em XD

So here's chappie 33 and it starts with, you guessed it, a scene! Aren't you just so happy!

I love and I'll miss you! And hint, what Gaara does for a living is revealed :]

Enjoy!

* * *

Hinata sucked in a breath through her teeth, closing her eyes as Sasuke fingered her sweet spot. She turned her head, biting down on her lip and holding back a moan. Moist, warm lips pressed themselves to the spot just behind her ear and she squirmed, parting her legs a little wider. Shamelessly, she rocked her hips, arching her back off the red satin duvet.

Sasuke slid between her legs, trailing bruising kisses down her neck. She wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing her knees back in preparation for him. But he took his sweet time, instead teasing her. He kissed her neck and the valley between her breasts. He nipped and suckled the dusty bud into an almost painful peak. He pressed the head of his manhood to her opening, but he didn't enter.

She gave another breathy moan, her nails digging into his well-toned ass. He dropped kisses down her stomach before leaving a trail along her beautiful thighs, feeling the trembles of pleasure shoot up her back. Smooth, creamy skin met his vision and he smirked, digging his tongue into her navel.

He pulled her close, their heat rubbing together wonderful. She moaned loudly and rolled her hips, catching him by surprise. She smiled at his grunt and did it again, and again, pushing him to his breaking point. Finally, he gave in, pulling one knee over his shoulder and locking her in place by the back of her creamy thighs.

One thrust and he can feel her coming around him. He grunted and she threw her head back, matching his movements with the utmost urgency. He pulled back, breathing hard and trying to control himself. Earlier, it had only been a joke with the multiple orgasms, but damn if he wasn't right.

A growl left her throat and she dug her nails in deeper. He grunted, letting his head fall back as he thrust in and out. She cried out as her back arched higher, her nails leaving crescents in his skin. His speed picked up and she matched it, her legs locking around his body. Her climax was building at breakneck speed and she adored it.

Her hips bucked wildly as her climax hit hard and she let her head fall back, a cry leaving her lips. Her legs tightened around him and her nails dug even deeper. But he doesn't stop. Barely recovering from her second climax, he was back again, pushing her up and over again.

Her eyes fluttered close as he reached his limit, that warm delicious feeling spreading through both of them. She gyrated her hips harder than he could, listening to the hitch of his breath as he pumped against her. She arched her back, rocking faster and tightening her grip.

They climax at the same time and she let her back drop back to the mattress, listening to his heavy breathing as he pulled her close. Her eyes open to find his close and she chuckles as softly as she can, lacing her fingers through his raven-dark hair. And then the moonlight catches the big ass diamond on her ring finger.

Her mind transfers back to the few hours before, when she had gotten married. The look on her friend's faces the day Sasuke walked into the restaurant and shoved that big ass sapphire on her ring finger. They had practically had sex right then and there. She smiled, closing her eyes. There had just been so much that had gone on.

Tangling her legs with his, she pressed her cheek to his hair, her eyes fluttering close. A week and a half in Jamaica, then they were headed back home. She still had a lot of things to do. And their house was still being renovated. She hadn't shown him the original plans either. That they were two other rooms added.

Her hand fell to her stomach. It wasn't as flat as it was four months ago, when she had found out. She had been two months when she had found out, just three days after Temari's wedding. Somehow, this secret hadn't slipped her lips for the past two and a half.

Sasuke breath against her neck didn't help with the fact that she couldn't tell him. Sakura had told her about the Hyuga's birthing history. It wasn't uncommon for her to have a miscarriage. Hinata felt her heart stop, just like it had in Sakura's office. She didn't want to get everyone's hopes up only to have a miscarriage and lose her baby.

She buried her nose in his hair, smelling his tomato-cigarettes-Old Spice-body wash-shampoo-cologne-Sasuke smell. Not even that could calm the racing of her heart. The same thought had kept her up at night. There just wasn't one thing that couldn't go wrong. And her line wasn't exactly known for its boys either. Hiashi and her uncle had been considered miracles when they were born.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked down at her sleeping husband. What if tonight was the last night her babies were alive? What if he didn't want children right now? What if this had been the wrong move?

She clamped her eyes shut and took a deep breath. Now wasn't the time to start berating herself. Now was the time for her to enjoy herself. Hiashi wasn't here to ruin her good mood. They had things planned yesterday, from morning to night. She couldn't start panicking now that they were together forever. No more condoms and hating the fact that a simple argument could change their minds. A year they had been dating, two years they had been together.

She couldn't start having problems now. Not when they were together, forever.

-

"Damn," Sasuke muttered, staring up at the crane in front of the unfinished mansion. "We can afford this?"

Hinata laughed, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her white Marc Jacobs cropped pants, nodding. "Yes, we can actually. I checked with our accountant. This won't even put a _dent_ in our savings."

"Shit." Sasuke pulled her close and kissed her cheek, smirking. "You know what this means?"

"What?" She slid an arm around his waist, smiling. "What does that mean, Sasuke?"

"I'm richer than my father." He smirked again and laced his fingers with hers, heading towards the front door. "It means I can have three more rooms added to this place."

"We've already got five though. And three of them have their own bathroom." She smiled brigther as they stopped in the breezy front hall. A grand staircase sat in the middle of the room. To the right and the left were red oak archways leading to the large parlor and kitchen. On either side of the staircase were white double doors that lead to other rooms. The house was like a maze, with doors leading to places. And it was a design made by Gaara, a family friend, who was dating Hanabi, despite a five year difference.

Age didn't matter when you were in love, as Hanabi had said. And beside, she was happy.

"Do you honestly think I care?" Sasuke responded, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and placing it between his lips. "Where's that emo redhead? I need to talk to him."

"I'm right here." Gaara appeared in the archway to the kitchen, a white hard hat covering his head. He was dressed in a blue vertically striped roll-sleeve button-down with dusty medium wash Calvin Klein distressed jeans. He leveled a look at Sasuke, who looked right back. "Is there something you need, brother-in-law."

"Oh, you're _funny_," Sasuke rolled his eyes, walking over to him. "I want to add more rooms."

"You're serious?" Hinata watched him with a confused look. "Why?"

He stared at her stomach pointedly. "I've got kids on the way. And I can afford more rooms."

"Some would call that flaunting your money," Gaara deadpanned. Sasuke shot him a look and lit the cigarette. "So? Do you think I actually care for what people think?" He smirked, exhaling in Gaara's face. "I don't."

"Sasuke," Hinata sighed, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that he _knew_. Which was impossible since she had told Sakura not to tell Sasuke, who was also a patient of hers. But she had told someone. Her frown deepened as she pulled out her new LG Glance. She had been smart not to tell Ino, but Temari was sure to say something. Those two were always hanging out at the spa. And the spa usually created loose lips. Or for Mikoto it did.

Before she could dial a number, her eyes landed on Kiba and Shino, who were moving a large piece of wood across the grounds. Her mouth dropped open as she dropped the phone back in her pocket. "Shino-kun? Kiba-kun? What are you doing here?"

Kiba grinned as Shino leaned the plank against the outside wall. "Hey, babe! We're just helping with the house!"

Shino wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand, nodding towards the house. "Gaara-san thought it would be a nice surprise."

Kiba threw an arm around Shino's shoulders, saying loudly, "Surprise!"

Shino promptly shoved him off and stalked back towards the house. "Thank you for blowing my eardrum, Kiba."

"You're welcome friend!"

"Who else is here?" Hinata asked, looking for a familiar blond head. "I never thought Gaara had it in him." She bit her lip, turning back to the front hall. Then again, he probably did, especially with the way Hanabi had described all the things he had done to her in bed. She smiled to herself, looking to Shino who was sanding another piece of wood, cradling a Blackberry to his head with his shoulder. It was always the quiet ones that were the most fun. But Sasuke was just as fun too.

* * *

So, as you can see, this isn't the end. Because I feeling like adding one more chapter. Granted, the last chapter might be a little short, but we'll call it the Epilogue, just to be safe.

I really hope you enjoyed! I know I did! I had a great time! I'll miss you!

Don't miss my story, Harmony. Net either! You'll love it, I promise XD

I'm outtie, for now~CocoaAngel95 :]


	34. The Final Chapter: Saying Goodbye

It's taken me forever and a day to get this out, but here it is! This is it!

The last chapter of the story that has kept you so riveted!

And I'm sad to say, for the last time

Enjoy :']

* * *

Hinata stopped washing dishes, placing a hand on the hip of her espresso brown Ella Moss stylishly high-waisted slacks that Ino said showed the curve of her hips perfectly. Kaede, her eccentric five-year-old with an intelligence bigger than her mother's, was having a staring contest with the big blue glass butterfly sitting in the cero in the front hall, which was visible from the sink in the kitchen. She was squatting in her favorite light blue sundress, hugging her knees. Long, indigo hair flowed down her back and her black eyes were squinted as she tried not to blink.

After five straight minutes of intense, eye-watering staring, Hinata dropped her dishcloth into the sudsy water with a sigh. Enough was enough. Before she knew it, the toddler was going to be going through the house, staring down anything in her path. I mean, sure, she had said Sasuke glare could wilt a flower, but had the child have to take it so seriously?

"All right, Kaede," Hinata lifted her by her armpits, settling Kaede on her hip. "I think you win. Uncle Shino won't be too happy to hear that one of his gifts couldn't last under your glare."

"Ha!" the girl laughed victoriously, pointing at the "shamed" butterfly. "And Toshi said it wasn't _possible_!"

Hinata raised an eyebrow, setting the girl on a stool at the kitchen's island. "Toshi?" Her mind transported her back to the day Toshi, her nephew, was born. Hanabi's face had been full of pride as she held him, with his tuff of reddish-brown hair and soulful lavender-tinted eyes. He was a beautiful boy, but had quite a tongue on him.

"Yeah!" Kaede stood on her stool, palms planted on the white granite counter. "He said it wasn't possible to stare down the butterfly," she tossed a smirk and a glare over her shoulder at said inanimate object, "because it was an _in-an-i-mate ob-ject_."

Hinata sighed and her shoulders slumped, but didn't say a word. Unknowingly, she had fueled Kaede's wild mind yet again. Last time, the five-year-old and eight-year-old had betted that she couldn't recreate the painting in the museum, the one that just looked like someone had put down streaks of paint across a white canvas. Hinata had walked into the back room, which had become the playroom, and clapped her hands, saying how "creative" Kaede was, and how it looked "just like it."

Sasuke had laughed at her for that one.

But before she could tell Kaede that it wasn't possible to stare down an inanimate object because it didn't _blink_, her two _other_ children walked in. How she knew this was because the twins were known for their loud arguments. Twins they maybe, but they were night and day. Kyouke couldn't stand when Keiko told him how to do things and being generally bossy. Keiko couldn't stand how her brother was quiet and chose to pick his arguments. This two were Ying and Yang when Ying and Yang don't mix.

Hinata had labeled this as life for the Hyuga-Uchiha household. Kyouke had gotten Hinata's quiet determination and the ability to know when things were getting out of hand and how to control said situations. Keiko had gotten her harsh tongue and amazing wit for her father. Hinata had a feeling Sasuke was quite proud of his twins, especially since Kyouke looked exactly like him when he was thirteen. If Keiko didn't open her mouth, she looked exactly like Hinata at thirteen . . . with longer hair.

There wasn't a moment in Hinata's life when someone wasn't saying something. Her peace was the time during which she could take her daily forty-five minute bubble bath in the huge garden tub with the gold claw-and-ball legs in her luxurious master suite, in the upper east wing of their huge house. In fact, it dominated the _whole_ upper east wing of the house. With a study, a small library and the main sleeping area with huge bay windows, it was the ultimate place to relax . . . and have romantic sex. Because let's face it, at forty-three, Sasuke was still making young and old women swoon.

But unfortunately, Sasuke was stuck at the office with some kind of paper work and she was left to deal with the kids since she had gotten off early. Hiashi was all cool now that she had given birth to three, wonderful grandchildren and was sure that the Hyuga-Uchiha line would live on.

Something crashed and Hinata cringed, the stress knotting her shoulders and her lower back and just about anywhere she didn't know there was a muscle. Something crashed just about every week and she had begun to wonder if it was possible to have anything _nice_ in this beautiful place without it breaking.

"Kyouke, you idiot!"

"Shut up, Keiko! It _wasn't_ me!"

"Yes it was! If you hadn't _shoved_ me-!"

"I didn't _shove_ you, stupid! I was _trying to get past you_-!"

"Yeah-!"

"ENOUGH."

Hinata sighed, wiping her hands on a white dishtowel and turning to face her now silent twins. They were in their Konoha uniforms and Hinata still couldn't get over the fact that Sasuke had used to go there until he transferred to Sound during her second year in middle school. But now was not the time to reminisce about old times. Now was the time to dish out some discipline.

She placed her French-manicured hands on her hips, giving them the best parent stare she could muster. "I'm going to ask one person and one person _at a time_." She held up a finger as Keiko went to open her mouth. "_Kyouke_, you go _first_."

After a minute of Kyouke explaining what happened, she listened to Keiko. But Keiko wouldn't utter a word, her glistening lavender eyes on the high ceilings. Hinata felt the stress and tension building inside of her as the teenager kept quiet. After another two minutes, Hinata crossed her arms and tried out a glare on her.

Keiko took a deep breath and began in a pinched voice,"You'renotgoingtolistenbecauseKyoukebasicallyblamedthewholethingonme. Eventhoughit_totally_wasn'tmyfault. Hewastheonewhoshovedmefirstandifhehadn'tdonethat, thedumbvasewouldhavebeenalivetoday."

_That's doubtful_, Hinata thought, but raised an eyebrow, saying softly, "Is that all you have to say?"

"Yes. Becasuethereisn'tanyotherwaytoconvinceyou. You'lltakeKyouke'ssidebecausehe'syourfavorite."

"You're such a drama queen," Kyouke huffed, hiking his backpack high up his back.

"ShutupKyouke! ThisisallyourfaultandnowI'mgonnahavetopayforyourstupidmistakes, AGAIN!" Keiko snapped, angry tears sliding down her blotchy red cheeks.

Kaede fisted Hinata's skirt and let herself dangle back, making Hinata glad for the wide distressed leather belt that cinched her black turtleneck tucked into her slacks together. Unhooking the little girl, she settled Kaede on her hip and managed to find her stern voice. "Since you are _both_ responsible," she shot a hard look a Keiko who clamped her glossed lips tighter, "I'm making you _both_ pay, from your accounts, to buy me _another_ Tiffany vase. Which costs two hundred _US dollars_."

"_What_?!" Keiko shrieked, causing Kyouke to flinch. "_Ma-ma_! That's, like, all I have _left_! You can't do that to me!"

Hinata fixed her with another parental look, shifting Kaede to her other hip. "I'm quite serious, Keiko. Unless you'd like to foot the_ two-thirds_ of the bill, I suggest you suck it up. Or we can take this to your father and you can battle it out with him."

It was a fact that Keiko had Sasuke wrapped around her delicate fist. It was also a known fact that Kyouke could argue Sasuke into a state that practically guaranteed he'd get anything he wanted as well. There were quite a few occasions where Keiko's complements had won over Kyouke's well-placed arguments. But there was a still a big of it chance happening again.

While Keiko calculated the odds of her winning and Kyouke was trying to come up with a reasonable argument, Hinata cleared her throat as officially as she could. "With me and Kaede as a witnesses."

"Fine," Keiko announced, stalking towards the stairs, her shiny black hair rippling down the back of her short-sleeve sailor suit top. "I will pay half of the vase. But only if Kyouke apologizes!"

"Ditto."

She whipped around and glared at him. "You go first!"

He looked her right in the eye. "Sorry."

Hinata almost laughed as Keiko blinked away her surprise but managaed to suppress it. It was quite obvious Kyouke was fuming. His sorry wasn't even that meaningful. It was a shock for him to even _give in_ that quickly. But he was through with his younger sister's pitiful, but detailed arguments and just wanted to escape to his favorite room, the big library on the lower west wing behind the staircase.

"Fine," Keiko looked him straight in the eye, like Hinata had taught them to. "I'm sorry."

"Good." Hinata shifted Kaede for the third time and noticed the five-year-old was keeping close tabs on everything that was going on. Even on the way Keiko was looking at Kyouke. "Now, you've an hour to finish your homework. After that, you need to get ready. We go to Uncle Chouji's new restaurant in Okinawa." She smiled at Keiko. "With a new vegan menu."

Keiko smiled and skipped the rest of the way up the stairs, Kyouke rolling his eyes and following after her with a dejected air. Hinata set Kaede on the air and she raced after Kyouke, who adored her, and was possibly the only other person who would agree with her that she had won a stare down with an inanimate object called a huge blue glass butterfly.

-

"I told you!" Kaede announced from Gaara's arms, pointing a moisturized finger in Toshi's stunned face. She leaned towards him as far as she could with Gaara's arms around her legs. "_In your face,_ Toshi! Even _Mama_ agrees that I could stare that dumb thing down!"

Sasuke shot Hinata a knowing look. "We've talked about this before, haven't we?"

Ino stifled a giggle as Toshi took to staying close to Hanabi's side. "Are you serious?" She looked to Hinata who was blushing crimson. "Hinata-kun? You agreed with her?"

Hinata blushed darker, self-consciously tugging on the hem of her white blouse and smoothing wrinkles from her black tube skirt. "Well . . . I . . . It's not what you think," she managaed weakly, her shoulders drooping.

"Oh, I don't know," Neji said, raising an eyebrow as their gathered group began laughing. "She looks pretty convinced that you said she had won."

They turned in time to hear Kaede shout very loudly, "She spe-cif-ically said 'I think you win. Uncle Shino won't be happy to hear that one of his gifts couldn't last under one of your glares.' I heard her say it! I was right there!"

Shino cast Hinata look, Sora giggling beside him. "What?"

Before anyone else could utter a word, Hinata clapped her hands, smiling brightly. "I think it's time we sit down! I mean, Chouji has made _such_ a wonderful spread and we can't waste it! Come, come, let's eat!" She made a show of scooping up Kaede and tucking the toddler under her arm, smiling brighter than she should have been.

-

"That was delicious!" Keiko announced, rubbing the belly of her satin light-blue and orange Chinese ankle-length dress. "Uncle Chouji makes better food than you do, Mama!"

Hinata sighed from the front seat as Sasuke stifled a snort. "I guess it's a good thing that I got the recipe for you favorites, hmm?"

"You got the recipe?" Keiko leaned forward as far as she could with her seatbelt from the back of the Jaguar. "Can you teach me-?"

"I thought you said she wasn't a _good cook_," Kyouke pointed out in a bored voice, his eyes watching the cars as they slowed in comparison to his father's driving.

"I _heard_!" Kaede raised her hand, proclaiming her involvement.

"Why won't you ever help _me_?" Keiko whined, sitting back in her seat.

"Because she doesn't _like_ you," Kyouke answered.

Hinata sighed as the two broke into an all out War of the Words in the back seat before saying over them, "Is there _any_ peace to be had?"

"_No_!"

Sasuke stopped at the red light and let his snickering evolve into a laugh. "Oh God."

"It's not funny," Hinata shot him a look, crossing her arms. "Quit laughing."

Unfortunately, the bickering continued and Sasuke kept laughing the whole thirty seconds they were sitting there. Hinata sighed, letting her eyes drift towards the starry night sky. There wasn't a moment in her life where her family wasn't bickering, laughing, crying and generally being noisy. But they were her family. And she loved them.

Besides, she could endure a little noise. There was always her bubble bath.

* * *

I have to say, I'm pleased with the way this turned out.

I mean, it could have been longer, and possibly envolve more stuff, but I think I like this one better.

So yeah, this is the end. You got you twins (You know who you are! XD)

And it's a nice, peaceful ending. I've always been a kind of cliff hanger person, leaving a person craving for more. But this is a nice finish.

I hoped you enjoyed this as much as I did. I even stayed up till 12 midnight for you!

Savoring this moment forever and a day~ CocoaAngel95 :']


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